BBC Scotland’s Tom English answers your Celtic questions

BBC Sport Scotland chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering your questions.

Neil asked: How do Celtic hang on to their academy players? Ben Doak, Rocco Vata and Dnaiel Kelly all left Celtic as 16/17-year-olds and are now playing in the Championship for more money than Celtic could realistically offer players of that age with limited first-team experience. Good enough to play regularly for Celtic at that age? Or should they have bided their time?

Tom answered: Hi Neil. The other week Celtic annihilated St Johnstone. That was the perfect evening to throw in a youngster off the bench. The game was won, the points secured. Nothing to lose. But there weren’t any youngsters on the bench.

If they’re not good enough then you have to question the work of the Celtic academy. But, really, there’s not one young academy player good enough to come on against St Johnstone when it’s 3-0, 4-0, 5-0? That seems mad to me.

Doak, Vata, Kelly – and many others – have left. Did they all go for the money? Or did they go, in part, because they feel they won’t get a look-in in terms of the first team? Mitchel Frame had a nice cameo in the Champions League last season and hasn’t been seen since. Francis Turley appeared against St Mirren but has had no minutes since.

Celtic are in a unique position in that they are going to win nearly all their domestic games, so they can afford to blood youngsters on certain days. They hardly ever do it, so these boys leave. It’s okay for Brendan Rodgers to say young players need to be patient, but these players obviously don’t believe they’re going to get a chance.

I hear, from keen Celtic observers who know their stuff, there are good young players at the club. I just wish they’d get a chance to show if they’re good enough.