Charlie Mulgrew: Aberdeen Have Been Great But Celtic Game A Step Too Far

Charlie Mulgrew believes Aberdeen’s winning streak will come to an end at Celtic Park tomorrow, crediting “brilliant” Brendan Rodgers for taking the Hoops to a new level.

The Dons head to Parkhead for a top-of-the-table clash after winning all seven league games under Jimmy Thelin and are the only team in Europe’s top leagues to have won every match this season across all competitions. 

However, Mulgrew, who played for both clubs, sees this as the ultimate test. In 10 days, Aberdeen will also face their first clash of the season with Rangers, followed by another match against Celtic in the League Cup semi-final two weeks later.

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The Hoops, also with seven wins from seven, currently sit top of the Scottish Premiership, above Aberdeen on goal difference but Brendan Rodgers' side are 1/4 with football betting sites to end Thelin's 100 % record while the away side are 10/1. 

In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com, Mulgrew said: "We're going to see how good they are this weekend and over the next couple of weeks. 

“They play Celtic and then they play Rangers, so it'll be interesting to see how they get on.

"I can't see them beating Celtic to be honest with you. But listen, they've done brilliantly so far. The manager’s come in and done an unbelievable job. The fans can be proud of the team that they've got on the pitch. 

“I really hope they can keep consistent for the rest of the season, and really put a challenge up to Celtic and Rangers because it really does make the league more exciting - it's a lot better to watch.

"It's a huge club and one that I really want to see do well this year. So a big game for them at the weekend, and the following week.

"How they come out at the end of that will give us a good idea of how much they're going to challenge Celtic and Rangers."

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Mulgrew, who played for Celtic over 200 times and was capped by Scotland on 44 occasions, is just one of the big names appearing at the Scottish Masters, taking place at Aberdeen’s P&J Live on November 14 and tickets are available here. 

While impressed with Thelin’s impact at Aberdeen, he is even more taken by Celtic’s transformation under Rodgers this season. 

The Hoops have also maintained a 100 percent league record, scoring 22 goals in just seven matches and Mulgrew, who left Celtic in 2016, got a glimpse of Rodgers' coaching prowess that summer before moving to Blackburn.

"He is an amazing coach. In the time I spent with him, his management and his coaching was top class. I think a team always resembles their manager,” he said

"He has resilience, organisation and ideas on the game. You can clearly see in the Celtic team now, he's kind of taken them to another level. 

“They're playing some great stuff. They're relentless in the way they play the game.

"He's a top manager and somebody who I never actually played under, but I had quite a few training sessions under him.

“I went in to see him and spent a few days with him and I was really impressed with everything he had to say.

“He showed me some things and told me about the way he does stuff. I was very impressed by him, so Celtic are definitely in good hands."

One player that Mulgrew has singled out for praise this season is Liam Scales, who has been pivotal in Celtic's success under Brendan Rodgers.

Previously a peripheral figure under Ange Postecoglou, which led to a loan move to Aberdeen in 2022/23, the Wicklow-born man has now made over 60 appearances for the Bhoys across all competitions, claiming four domestic trophies along the way.

To cap an almost perfect start to the current campaign, Scales netted his first international goal for the Republic of Ireland in a 2-1 win over Finland last week in just his sixth appearance for his country.

Mulgrew said of the 26-year-old: "Liam Scales has been absolutely brilliant since he stepped into the team last season. Rodgers has openly said that he doesn't know where he would be without Liam Scales. 

"I think he was nearly out of the door and then he stepped up to the plate. Because he's not a big or foreign name, sometimes people are just waiting for him to make a mistake and looking at the things he doesn't do, rather than the actual stuff he does bring.

"It's very similar in my journey, Celtic, having been a Scottish player that came through and then went away and came back through the Scottish Leagues.

"People are kind of waiting for you to kind of make a mistake and you get the blame straight away. I think Liam Scales has been there (for Celtic). 

"You look at the injuries to Carter Vickers and some important defenders at times, and he's always been the one that's been there and stepped up to the plate."