Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers singled out a surprise player for praise on a day when his forward players were on fire and able to fill their boots in a 6-0 slaying of Aberdeen.

The Northern Irishman did dish out plaudits for scorers Oh Hyeon-gyu after the substitute forward grabbed an added time double and winger Yang Hyun-jun, who capped a devastating display with a first goal for the club plus Luis Palma, the winger successfully assuming penalties duties having provided an assist for the first.

But though Aberdeen were rarely seen as an attacking force, the Celtic manager broke off from discussing the impact of his substitutes – Oh and David Turnbull sharing the added-time three-goal burst – to delight in the contribution of central defender Liam Scales, facing up to the team he was expected to rejoin permanently in the summer after his spending last season on loan at Aberdeen. “I thought Liam Scales was outstanding today,” Rodgers said. “I said to him yesterday, ‘you’re playing against your team mates, you know these guys, don’t try and dress it up and be too clever. Show how much you have developed and improved. I thought he was brilliant today.”

Celtic's Liam Scales was coming up against his former club in Aberdeen and earned praise from his manager.

Mental strength and improvement from his wingers Yang and Palma were highlighted as he commended his squad for bouncing back from the 6-0 slamming in midweek to Atletico Madrid – “in life you have painful points, but it is how you respond is where you are judged,” he said – though the plaudits were not universal after Odin Thiago Holm’s first league start led to the Norwegian being hauled off after only 52 minutes.

“[Mental strength] is the number one factor for me, to be a Celtic player – you can be talented, of course, but you need mental strength and you have to be robust in your mentality,” said Rodgers. “It’s like with Odin, we gave him a start and he needs to do more. We said it at half time that if you don’t start then you come off, because there is always someone to take your place. So being mentally strong is important. These players have that. This group, you see it in them. They will work hard, they will listen, they will learn, and they build up that robustness. I am very pleased for them.”

'He was brilliant': Celtic boss picks out surprise stand-out but has words for Thiago Odin Holm