Celtic stretched their lead at the top of the table to 13 points over Rangers after a convincing 3-0 win over St Mirren this afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers made four changes to his Celtic lineup from the team that lost to Rangers in the New Year Glasgow Derby.
And how those changes worked. The Bhoys put on a dominant display against St Mirren as the Paisley club struggled to cope with the attacking threat of Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn.
The 3-0 win over St Mirren banishes the ghosts of the Rangers defeat as Kuhn looked back to his best against the Paisley club.
Reacting to the win, Hoops boss Rodgers was delighted with the win that kept some serious daylight between Celtic and Rangers who bottled it against Hibs in a 3-3 draw at Easter Road.
Brendan Rodgers hails Celtic star who ‘gives everythin’ vs St Mirren
Luke McCowan got a start against St Mirren as Rodgers drafted him in as he shook up the Celtic midfield for the visit of St Mirren and the Hoops boss praised the former Dundee captain’s patience on the sidelines.
Rodgers told BBC Radio Scotland, “He gives everything every single day and then he deserves the opportunities he comes to him.
“So I know he’ll be a wee bit frustrated in some of the areas he got into that he maybe didn’t get a chance to score, but he makes a vital contribution for us every time he plays. So delighted for him.
Brendan Rodgers speaks on Celtic opening up 13-point gap on Rangers
The Celtic boss was then asked if he was delighted at the 13-point gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and Rodgers admitted that daylight between the Hoops and the Ibrox club makes him ‘very happy’.
I think that’s what it is,” continued Rodgers, “It’s just stage posts along the way and being at the halfway point from a pre-season, which has been great.
“From the European campaign which has been fantastic to winning the first cup of the season to then arrive at the halfway point in a really good place and then to add that lead. Of course that makes us very happy.”
Rodgers can now look forward to Celtic’s next fixture against Dundee United at Parkhead on Wednesday night where he will be hoping to pick up where he left off from today with another three points in his bid to retain his title.
With Rangers facing another tough away fixture to Dundee, there is a strong possibility that the gap could grow even further should the Ibrox club drop any more points on the road in Tayside.
