Brendan Rodgers has stressed that he is working harder than he has during his two spells as manager of Celtic and is confident in his side’s ability to catch and overtake William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts despite their recent slump in form.
The defending Scottish champions, who were once again missing several key players, fell eight points behind their Edinburgh rivals yesterday when they were beaten 3-1 in a league game at Tynecastle.
Rodgers, who is without Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston, Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho at the moment, has been publicly critical of both the Glasgow club’s summer recruitment and the lack of quality he has at his disposal.
However, the Northern Irishman, whose team take on Falkirk in the Premiership at Parkhead on Wednesday night, stressed that he remains determined to turn Celtic’s season around in the coming weeks and months.
Read more:
- Hearts 3 Celtic 1: Derek McInnes's men surge eight points clear at top of Premiership
- Rangers 3 Kilmarnock 1: Danny Rohl celebrates win in first home game at Ibrox
- Remembering Rangers club legend Walter Smith four years after his death
“The context of today is obviously disappointing in the game and the result,” he said. “But there are 29 games left. If Hearts are at their best today, then of course if we can find a consistent level of performance, then there's absolutely no doubt we can make up the points difference.
“Hearts have made a really good start in terms of points. Our issues have been well documented. But we're working very, very hard with limited time on the field to find the solutions. Sometimes we're having to do it in the game. But we'll continue to work to do that.
“I've always taken responsibility. There's never been a time that I haven't. When you're the manager at Celtic, you're responsible for the results, despite whatever else happens. So that responsibility is on me.
“My determination is pretty much there. I've never worked harder in all my time here. So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine. It's still so early. I think that's the key point in it all.”
Asked if he felt that Hearts were credible Premiership contenders after their win over his Celtic side, Rodgers said, “I think when you make a strong start, which they've done, you get talked about. They've obviously got one game a week, which is a big advantage.
“Of course, Derek will feel that he can keep them up there. But it's so early. Win, lose or draw the game today, we wouldn't have been getting carried away with anything. So many games and we'll continue to focus on trying to maximise what we can get from the players.
“Hearts have made a fantastic start, got the points on the board, but there's so much football to play. We've just got to hang in there at this moment, find those performances, find the results and hopefully our levels will improve as the season goes on.”
Young Celtic centre-half Dane Murray scored an early own goal and gave away a second half penalty – which Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland scored to make it 3-1 - with a needless foul.
“Listen, it's all about learning when you're a young player,” said Rodgers. “Dane's been in and around it now for a little while. He's played in some games for us and come into games. But if you want to play for Celtic, these are the challenges that you have to come and perform in.
“Listen, he's a good kid. He trains really, really well. We were looking for him to give us a balance. He won some great headers, had some really good moments. It was just unfortunate how he started the game. But he kept going, showed his mentality. He'll learn from the mistakes.”
Auston Trusty, the United States internationalist who was signed for £6m from Sheffield United last season, was once again left on the bench. But Rodgers defended his selection of Murray.
Read more:
- Derek McInnes won’t let Hearts dream about title despite key victory over Celtic
- First base rounded in effort to build Edinburgh's first ever dedicated baseball field
- Scott McTominay equals Lewis Ferguson's impressive Serie A record
“He [Trusty] is left-footed,” he said. “The balance of the centre-halves works better for me. When we have the balance of a left footer [Liam Scales] and a right footer [Murray] at centre-half. So the price tag never comes into it. It's about what the team needs.
“Listen, we've got so many games. I'm sure all the players at some point will feature. We look at all the players and find what we think is the right balance.”
Rodgers revealed that Celic winger cum striker Maeda is set to return to training at Lennoxtown today and expressed hope that right-back Johnston and striker Iheanacho will not be sidelined long-term.
“I'm not sure Ali and Kels will make Wednesday,” he said. “But they'll definitely be a few weeks. I don't know [if Maedaa will be able to play in midweek]. We have to look at that. We have to make sure that we introduce him at the right moment. But thankfully, he's back training.”
Share