Celtic stretched their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a win against St Mirren as Rangers slipped up at Hibs.
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic starting XI was much-changed from the team that capitulated against Rangers in the Glasgow Derby as the Hoops boss dropped four players from his starting lineup.
Clearly looking for a reaction, Rodgers got it as Celtic beat St Mirren with a convincing 3-0 win to go 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Admittedly, it took 33 minutes for Nicolas Kuhn to open the scoring but once that first goal went in, there was only ever going to be one winner.
But it seems that in the lead-up to the goal, Brendan Rodgers was annoyed with the Celtic supporters allowing their frustrations to show and he let it rip in his post-match press conference.
Brendan Rodgers warns Celtic supporters ‘don’t panic’ and to not ‘get onto the team’
Rodgers told Celtic TV [3m 20s], “It was 0-0 for the first 20 minutes, we make a backward pass and the crowd get onto the team. That cannot happen.
“One, you know about football, and two, if you can understand that when teams come here, they’re going to make it really difficult. You can’t turn up every single week and be three or four nil up in 20 minutes.
“Teams are well organized. Teams are well set up. You have to work the game. So sometimes you have to play a backward pass to change the point of attack, you make a backward pass, and then we go into the players. And that’s why I was proud of the players.
I don’t need the cheers when it’s 3-0 and the support when it’s three and four and five nil. This team needs it. It’s just the amount of games that they’re playing and how we play, you only need to look at the facts and how this team plays to know they’re an attacking team, a creative team that creates goals and scores goals.
“So when we decide to go back to change the point of attack, clap, the players. Don’t panic. Don’t start getting on to them, because we’re trying to get another attack. So for us, if we play a backward pass or a sideward pass, it is to change the point of attack, right? And the players deserve more. The players deserve the trust. And that was my annoyance today
“Because at 2-0, 3-0, it was great. But we need the support when it 0-0, especially amidst a run of games where there are so many games where you might be a fraction, just fatigued, but we don’t mention that. We want to attack. Look at our numbers. Look at our look at our stats. Just trust, trust the team, trust the manager. If you don’t, just trust the team, trust how they play.
“We’ve seen it consistently now. It’s not like a year or so ago where or just over a year ago, it was a little bit slow and players are getting used to the consistency of the team has been incredible. The level of the team has been such a high level, but support it, and then you’ll get even more out of the team.”
Rodgers was clearly annoyed and it seems that this feeling has been building as far back as the Club Brugges game but, until now, the Celtic boss has held his tongue.
It will be interesting to see how his comments will be perceived by the Celtic supporters now.
Brendan Rodgers slams Celtic fans’ ‘total lack of respect’ for Greg Taylor
Rodgers was then asked if he feels Greg Taylor is underappreciated by the Celtic support for what he’s achieved at the club.
The Hoops boss delivered a huge dose of support for his fullback and how the fans chanted Kieran Tierney’s name throughout the St Mirren win.
Rodgers said [10m 15s], “Total lack of respect, of course it is. Look at Greg Taylor. He has been absolutely amazing at this club. How does he feel? He’s playing, bleeding, breaks his nose bleeding for the club, for the cause.
“I’m more worried about the players that’s here. It’s not very respectful. You sing for another person, no matter what Kieran’s history is. I don’t like that. I hear the stuff around him in the Champions League.
“But to be fair, I had hundreds of Celtic players that haven’t been good enough in the Champions League. There’s lots of players. What I know is this is a man who gives everything for this club and hopefully we can keep him here because we’re trying to build a strong squad.
“I put myself in his shoes, playing left back in the game, and they are singing the name of someone else and he’s stood on the side and the supporters are singing the name of another man, especially when you’re doing so much for the club and have given so much for the club. It’s so frustrating.
Greg Taylor is yet to sign a new deal at Celtic and has now entered the last six months of his contract at the club.
With speculation increasing about Kieran Tierney’s return to Celtic, the fans are clearly excited at the prospect of a player of his quality coming back to the club.
Taylor has been the subject of some intense criticism from the fans of late but was Rodgers right to address it in the way that he has? This clear public support for the left-back is a signal that the Celtic boss rates him and wants Taylor to stay at Celtic.
Whether or not that happens now is anyone’s guess at the minute.
