Brendan Rodgers attention to Celtic detail is where the magic is as former protege baulks at fans' Kyogo criticism

Stephen Dobbie saw his career soar to a new level when Brendan Rodgers turned him into a perfect 10. Taking a step back to move his career forward had never entered the frontman’s mind but quickly the numbers began to stack up.

The instincts of his boss at Swansea 13 years ago - then just a fledgling in the management game - not only saw Dobbie rise but also the Swans as the Scot repaid his gaffer by helping fire them into the Premier League for the first time in their history.

So it’s no surprise the Celtic boss is held in the highest regard by the man who hit 236 career goals and won back-to-back Championship Play-Off Finals in England, including scoring for the Swans at Wembley in 2011. He insists Rodgers makes players better. He felt it himself and saw it in those around him in south Wales.

When he hears sections of the Celtic support accusing the manager of blunting the threat of their star striker, Dobbie shakes his head in disbelief. Just a few weeks ago Rodgers was in the firing line for peed-off punters when Kyogo’s magic touch appeared to vanish during a run which saw last season’s Premiership top scorer net just once in 12 games. Blamed for the Japan ace doing too much work outside the box, the Parkhead boss hit back revealing he’d sat down with the 28-year-old and gone through video analysis to show where he needs to be affecting games.

Two weeks - and two goals later - Kyogo volleyed any doubts into orbit with a sensational strike to clinch the Old Firm and move the title momentum back in Celtic’s favour. Dobbie - now forging his own coaching career as senior development coach with Blackpool - insists the Hoops support would be crazy not to put their faith in the manager.

He said: "Look, Brendan knows his