Brendan Rodgers hints a Celtic tweak that might unleash Tomoki Iwata and turn the clock back for Callum McGregor.

In the midweek win over Hibs, the Hoops manager reversed the clock by giving the captain his old attacking role.

Brendan Rodgers’s Scrooged his team on Sunday with an ear bashing that would have sent poor Bob Cratchit straight to HR.

However, a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past against Hibs restored some festive cheer for the Celtic manager. On a chilly evening in Glasgow’s East End, the Irishman admitted that seeing Callum McGregor return to the more advanced role he enjoyed during his first spell in charge was enough to warm the heart.

He was right on the edge of the penalty area, picking passes and pressing defenders while taking pot shots on goal and dictating play. McGregor has emerged as one of the best players in the country in the deeper position he assumed after legendary captain Scott Brown retired. But the other night was a reminder that the playmaker is just as useful when he’s free and back on his old turf.

“I really enjoyed watching him,” Rodgers said. He took me back to my first time here. He’s such a special player for this team in so many ways, and for the club as a whole.

“From a psychological perspective, to have the desire, the mentality and the hunger to continually want to succeed is phenomenal really. I’ve played him in virtually every position bar goalkeeper and centre half in my two spells. He’s just tactically brilliant in the game.

“Putting him up one, you can see what he can do. He can get forward, he’s clever, he can link the game and he can get shots off.

“He’s got big quality to score goals – in my first time here, he was very, very good at that.

“I thought him and Matt O’Riley were excellent against Hibs. Matt is so graceful around the pitch and played with big quality the other night. Tomo just stabilises it in there, to win the ball and play it simple.”

Rodgers admitted that he has been considering pushing his captain further forward for some time. With Reo Hatate out until the new year, the position of advanced midfielder is still up for grabs, with David Turnbull, Paulo Bernardo, and Odin Thiago Holm all vying for it.

With Tomoki Iwata fit and ready – and a natural deep midfielder – Rodgers had another opportunity to shake things up.

“It would have happened before, but Tomo wasn’t available,” he explained. Whatever the game needs, that’s something we will look at. He’s shown up very well in training and in the games where he’s come in, he’s done well.

“Against a good side like Hibs, you can see it’s something that can function well.

“Cal can take it in his stride because he’s so, so clever, you really only ever have to tell him anything once. You’re not having to repeat anything with him.

“He’s an absolutely incredible player and captain of the team. Whether he plays as an 8, an inverted full back, a controller, wherever, he plays the game to the highest level.”

The other night, Celtic made light work of Hibs in a game that could have been a difficult test for Rodgers at a time when the Hoops aren’t quite firing on all cylinders.

Oh’s early goal made it a relatively easy night, but the manager insisted that it was his captain who set the tone. This is a player who has started every single game for club and country in 2023 and shows no signs of slowing down.

It wasn’t just McGregor’s forward play that brought back memories for Rodgers. He also notices several parallels with another blast from the Celtic past.

“He’s a brilliant example for the other players,” Rodgers said. If you talk about an ideal footballer, having mental strength and the ability to interpret different systems, being competitive, having quality and being physically brave, he’s all of that.

“He’s the ideal footballer you would want in your team. He reminds me very much of the captain we had when I was first here (Brown). Just that relentless mentality. Every game he’s up for it. He’s a real inspirational voice for his team-mates.

“He’s always there, you can rely on him, and every game is like his last game. He’s a brilliant performer.”

McGregor’s effortless transition into a new role brought up another question that has dogged the Hoops ace for the majority of his career.

What is his ideal position? The 30-year-old began his career as a winger, or even a striker, and it was as a winger that he first saw action under Ronny Delia. Under Rodgers, he developed into an attacking midfielder, but he also played left back and wing back at times.

He looked like he was made for the deeper role after Brown left, building the play and moving the ball quickly through the pitch.

He was the conductor who kept everything running under Ange Postecoglou, and he’s also done a variety of tasks for national boss Steve Clarke. Rodgers believes it doesn’t matter where he plays as long as he does it well.

“Every player has a favourite position,” he explained. It will be somewhere in the midfield, I would think.

“In his younger years, he was that number 10 or number eight, really getting forward, running and scoring goals.

“In the last few years, he’s played in more of a controlling position so he can see the game and the game can then run through him.

“He progresses the ball quickly – that’s the key for Callum. The ball comes through the pitch quickly, and when you want to play fast football that really helps.”

It doesn’t take a night shift at Ebenezer to realise the Ghost of Christmas Past has a significant role to play in the present and future.

In other news, Brendan Rodgers Unexpected Appearance on Social Media on Thursday Night