Brendan Rodgers probably has more thinking to do than he would have wanted.
This could potentially be a Treble-winning season for Celtic, yet recent performances haven’t been those of a team pushing for such high standards.
On Sunday, Celtic were beaten at St Johnstone, as the title party was put on further hold after it could and should have been won in Perth.
But, defeat in recent weeks, especially that abject display in the Glasgow derby, means that the champions-elect will have to wait until after the split to lift the title.
Yes, by the end of it all, Celtic will add more trophies to their cabinet, and there is every chance the season could finish with 121 trophies – no team in Scotland’s history has more.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be critical of the side, and especially the performances in 2025 – in the league – because there have been far too many off-colour moments.
And Rodgers didn’t hold back in what he had to say post-St. Johnstone.
Brendan Rodgers questions Celtic players’ mentality after defeat to St. Johnstone
For weeks and even months, everyone, even Rangers, knew that the title is done and it’s just a matter of time.
But that change of mindset seems to have riled Rodgers because he feels, recent performances, have told him how some of his players are not able to cope with not being underdogs, as he told Sky Sports Football.
It’s pretty honest and scathing from the Celtic manager, but that’s what you need if you want to maintain such high, high standards.
“I think both very, very disappointing,” said Rodgers about the result and performance. “Listen, I want to give the credit to St Johnstone, because I thought, from the first minute, their fight was better than ours.
“They are obviously desperate for the points. We should be desperate for the points, but they made it really, really difficult for us. We just started off too soft in the beginning.
“We have chances, in particular in the second half, lots of pressure and lots of really good moments. But we were really disappointing.
On whether he is surprised: “No, it shouldn’t. We have got three sides of the ground today. All expectant. But what it is telling me, over the course of the season, especially this part of the season, is that expectation vs the underdog, and the players who can cope with that here, a club like Celtic.
“It’s easy when you are the underdog. When you are playing in Champions League games. You are fighting and running. Playing at Celtic is being able to do both. The expectation and how we have started games, especially over this last period, hasn’t been good enough.
“But that tells me something as a coach, so no, not overly surprised.”
Which players could Rodgers be making reference to?
There is one player that instantly springs to mind, and that’s because he keeps getting subbed, and at half-time.
Nicolas Kuhn was hooked off at the break by his manager, alongside January signing, Jeffrey Schlupp.
Perhaps Rodgers isn’t making reference to Schlupp because he has just joined, but you sense Kuhn could be one of the players being talked about because he just hasn’t been at it for months.
Another player subbed against St Johnstone was Arne Engels, another one who has been a talking point in recent months, so it’s not a good look for him either.
Daizen Maeda was also taken off, but he is the Player of the Year and is allowed an off-day, whilst Jota went off after 76 minutes for James Forrest.
