BRENDAN RODGERS has vowed that Scottish players will always be a 'vital' element of his Celtic side.

The Hoops are currently training in Dubai where a healthy contingent of homegrown players make up the travelling party.

Since he arrived in Glasgow a year and a half ago, Rodgers' success has been founded upon the like of Scott Brown, Kieran Tierney, Stuart Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths as Celtic drive towards success.

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And the Parkhead boss says that will always be a key element to his side, despite the fact new boy Lewis Morgan is the first ever Scot he's signed in Glasgow.

Rodgers said: "I didn’t know that until you just said.

"I don’t really think of it from that perspective.

"I know I have a core of Scottish players I’ve been really happy with.

"It’s vital. Everybody has to get an opportunity.

"Not too many would have heard of Jorge Cadete or Pierre van Hooijdonk and these guys when they came to Celtic. The Di Canios and so on. Even Lubo Moravcik.

"Vitually nobody knew about Coutinho when I got him in.

"But players need an opportunity, they need a start.

"If I was working in Spain my core would always be Spanish. In Scotland my core will always be Scottish. That’s important because they understand and live and breath it.

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"But what is also important is that if you are working in the Champions League you also need to be able to branch out and bring in the best of other nationalities. It’s two fold."

Rodgers admits punters get more excited about foreign players, but said: "It’s no different for managers.

"It’s the same. A foreign manager will always create a lot more excitement than the guy from down the road or a different part of Britain.

"That’s just nature. Players are the same as management. British player and British managers always tend to be that way.’