Celtic's Tom Rogic hailed as 'a little Messi'

Celtic players celebrate Tom Rogic making it 1-0 against Motherwell.

Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic has described Tom Rogic as “a little Messi” after the Australian proved the matchwinner with another exquisite finish in the 1-0 victory over Motherwell.

“For me he is little Messi!” said the Croatian international. “He’s a bit taller than the original but there’s only one big Messi, he can be the little one! He’s so good. He’s one of the best players I have played with at club level. He’s in top form this season and that can only be good for us.

“We see it in training but I always make sure he’s in my team. He knows how to pick the sides. You look at his technique. He’s so tall but it’s unbelievable. He’s the main man for us. I didn’t know too much about him before I came here. I knew he’d been here a long time but I was wondering why because he was so good. He enjoys it here and he’s a legend.”

Meanwhile, Motherwell manager Graham Alexander has disputed the free-kick that allowed Rogic to bag a third crucial goal of the season, given by referee Euan Anderson for a foul by Callum Slattery on the goalscorer.

"I always get frustrated at bits and pieces but I thought the game-winning moment was the wrong decision,” said Alexander. “I didn't think it was a free-kick. He set the bar early with what sort of challenge would be OK, which is fine, every ref interprets things differently, but then you take that as the bar. I didn't think that should be given, due to other challenges that were going on early on. I thought it was a cheap free-kick to give but it's a match-winning free-kick. They are a good team, they don't need any favours. I'm not suggesting it was a favour but I just thought it was a cheap decision. Celtic showed their quality with the taking of it.”

Alexander was yellow-card for complaining about the foul, another decision that left him bemused. “I don't know [why I was booked] it was hard to hear him from eight yards away when he showed me the yellow. I've got to fight for my team and I didn't use any bad language. I remonstrated but I remonstrated from 50 yards away.”

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