BRENDAN Rodgers had, he admitted with a grin as he spoke to reporters this afternoon, been on “death watch” as Celtic prepared to take on Rangers at Ibrox in the first Old Firm game of the season today.
A poor display and painful 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in the Viaplay Cup last month had ended the Parkhead club’s chances of completing another domestic treble this season and provoked an angry response from their fans.
And a 0-0 draw with struggling St Johnstone at home in the cinch Premiership last weekend had, despite the lengthy injury list he is contending with just now, led many supporters to question if he had lost his managerial mojo.
So it was no surprise that Rodgers agreed when he was asked if the win he had just masterminded over Michael Beale’s men in Govan in front of 50,000 opposition supporters was one of the most satisfying of his career.
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The Northern Irishman – who has now lost just one of the 14 Glasgow derbies he has been involved in – believes performing so well in such a hostile environment shows the quality and mentality of his players and augurs well for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.
“Yes, especially with no supporters,” he said. “It’s not the same game. It’s not the same game and it’s such a shame.
“Look, it’s brilliant for us. Our resilience and everything we had to show as Celtic players was there today. As a group we had to withstand a lot, but it’s not the same game. When there is not a single supporter there for you then you know you have to be a man.
“For this group of players to come do that and get the victory was absolutely brilliant. There is no doubt they will grow from it. For us today to come here with no supporters and win? Hopefully wherever they are Celtic supporters across the world will come here proud of their team.”
Rodgers added: “I understand I have been placed on death watch by the media. But whatever the result today I’m an experienced manager now and I’m staying calm. For me, I understand what we have, I understand what we are missing.
“So for me, until we get the level of player back that will make a difference in some of our games we have to keep working and developing and improving and I have absolutely no doubt that we will do that as the season grows.
“Listen, it’s three wins and a draw. Some of the games have been good, but we are still piecing together a team which will look a lot more like it by the end of the season.
"It was a fantastic result for us. When you look at the squad we had here and half our team missing, we need the players to come here and play like men and they did that.”
READ MORE: Celtic defender Gustaf Lagerbielke adamant Rangers goal was a foul
Rodgers singled out his captain Callum McGregor for special praise after a victory that sent Celtic back to the top of the cinch Premiership table.
“I said to him at half-time, ‘That’s the guy I used to come here with when we won’,” he said. “That’s Callum McGregor - a big personality who takes the ball and passes the ball and makes tackles and intercepts and blocks and gets the rhythm in our game. He was absolutely brilliant today. I am delighted for him.
"But it is big for the new guys in particular. Callum is used to it. But for the new guys coming in, the win shows them that feeling what is about. We can take the good feeling into the next game but we need to keep pushing forward."
Rodgers felt that Celtic centre-half Gustaf Lagerbielke had been ‘nicked’ by Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers in the build-up to the first half Kemar Roofe goal that was disallowed by referee Don Robertson after a VAR check.
“Listen, there is enough people looking at it now,” he said. “As I said to Gus at half-time, ‘you’ve got to learn your lesson there’. You have got to get the passing going quicker and maybe needs another angle there quicker.
“But in saying that, as he turns around, he gets a nick. If you are Michael and Rangers supporters you are maybe aggrieved. But at that point of the game we were dominating. So if we had conceded then I wouldn’t have been so happy. But they had a good look at it for long enough, so we accept the decision.”
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