Celtic ace lifts lid on being left out of team and explains how he's improved as player

Celtic paid a record £11 million to Augsburg for Engels 12 months ago and while the 21-year-old Belgian forced his way straight into the starting XI, he has found himself as back-up to Benjamin Nygren, Reo Hatate and captain Callum McGregor this term. He has also dropped out of the international set-up with Belgium. He has only been selected from the start twice this season.

Engels came on as a substitute during the midweek Champions League play-off defeat by Kairat Almaty, but he admitted disappointment that he did not start the game and hopes to get more minutes when Celtic head to Ibrox on Sunday to face Rangers in the first Old Firm derby of the season.

“Of course you should be disappointed and I was also because I think I can add something to the team,” Engels said of his current situation. “That's what you need to have in mind also, that you want to bring something to the team.

“I'm trying to do my best every time in training and when I'm coming in trying to affect the game and trying to do my best. I'm hoping that I will get some more minutes and I'm working for that.

“I'm really doing hard work to get into the team and hopefully I will.”

Engels’ discussions with Rodgers

Asked if he has discussed with Rodgers what he needs to do to get back into the Celtic team, Engels continued: “Yes of course but everybody knows it also a bit from themselves that they just need to work hard and maybe be a bit patient or something. But I think it's up to me to show in those minutes that I'm getting that I need to be in that starting XI and I really want to so I'm hoping to help the team a lot more in the upcoming games.”

Despite not being a first pick right now, Engels believes he has shown significant improvement from when he first joined the club.

“I think a lot, especially if you see in the beginning the games that I played here and if you see the games now,” he said . “It's totally different and you see it also in the analysis that I'm doing with the coaches here. You're improving in some kind of areas and some kind of things that you're maybe protecting the ball a bit more or better and keeping the ball more and trying better things.

“So it's good and hopefully my body is also getting a bit bigger, so it all comes step by step and you need to just keep improving.

Engels feels 100 per cent ready to step into the cauldron of a Rangers match if called upon by Rodgers this weekend. “I was mentally always prepared for a game like that,” he added, “but of course now that you've played already in a few games like the Celtic-Rangers games, you know how it is and you know how the feeling is.

“So I'm more prepared than ever and I hope I can really help the team in every kind of way. I'm ready to play so yeah, I'm looking forward to it.”