Brendan Rodgers made a serious misjudgement when he criticised the Celtic supporters following the 3-0 win over St Mirren.
The Celtic manager was highly critical of supporters but got two issues and areas badly mixed up.
Around 45,000 fans turned up for the match against St Mirren. With severe weather across many parts of the country, a Sunday kick-off ahead of the big return to work for many and the nature of Thursday’s defeat at Ibrox it was far from an attractive fixture.
For just £12.99 you could watch the match from the comfort of home.
Those that attended the match are the absolute bedrock of the Celtic support. Many might not be the most emotive but they were there and willing the team on, from the Green Brigade it was business as usual, non-stop support from before the first whistle.
Rodgers has clearly been stung by the criticism that followed the 3-0 defeat at Ibrox, more so the nature of the performance than the result on its own, the first defeat after 19 SPFL Premiership matches.
Online there has been stinging and in some cases brutal criticism, as much of the manager and his tactics and especially the use of substitutes.
Those criticising online are largely a different group to the supporters that were inside the ground for the St Mirren match.
In his anger at the personal criticism directed at him since Thursday Rodgers pulled in a couple of smaller issues to criticise the backbone of the Celtic support, the fans that cheered the team onto the park on a bleak January afternoon.
I have a big respect for this group of players, especially when it was 0-0 for the first 20 minutes and when we’d make a backward pass, the crowd would be onto the team.
That cannot happen. When teams come here, they’re going to make it really difficult. You can’t turn up every single week and score three or four in 20 minutes.
Teams are well organised. You have to work the game. So sometimes you have to play a backward pass to change the point of attack.
You only need to look at the facts and how this team plays to know they’re an attacking team.
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 to another level.
The consistency of the team has been incredible, be supportive. And then you get even more out of the team.
That criticism of the fans was misjudged, connecting a chant for Kieran Tierney to criticism of Greg Taylor is the sort of judgement that Cyriel Dessers specialises in. It was off the mark.
Rodgers has never been slow to praise Tierney- those comments have been closer to disrespectful to Taylor than supporters singing about someone that identified closely with the Green Brigade, taking the megaphone a few times.
Asked about Tierney Rodgers could easily have answered that he won’t discuss someone that plays for another club.
Instead he has praised the Scotland defender to the hilt, both as a player and person. It isn’t too hard to join the dots.
There were no loaded questions thrown at Rodgers yesterday, his post match audience didn’t have the capacity to dupe the Celtic boss.
Entering the media room Rodgers had a few issues that he wanted to offload, he could have criticised the online ‘over reaction’ to the defeat at Ibrox but for whatever reasons decided to focus on those that had been inside Celtic Park to see the lead at the top of the table stretched to 13 points.
Rodgers isn’t really the type to compromise but at tomorrow’s media conference for the match against Dundee United he really needs to clear things up.
Those in attendance at the St Mirren match deserve praise not criticism, the online critics can be tackled at any time with the full force of Celtic’s own media team.
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CLEMENT PILES THE PRESSURE ON PADDY STEWART OVER IBROX FINANCES
Phil Clement has put the spotlight on Paddy Stewart to reveal what the plan is for the January transfer window.
The former Manchester United suit delayed his arrival at Ibrox until December 16 with the future, or lack of for the manager expected to be top of the To Do list.
After the heroic failure in the League Cup Final Clement was given a stay of execution, Thursday’s victory over Celtic had some gullible bears drooling again over what A Proper Manager can achieve.
To get any prospect of success Clement will need the funds to bring in new players, with losses last season of £17.2m expected to be surpassed this year it is hard to see how the war-chest will be filled. Already the Ibrox club are committed to spending £4m at the end of the season on Oscar Cortes.
With John Bennett and Douglas Park taking a back seat it seems certain that Stewart has been brought in to implement a plan of austerity.
Efforts will have to be made to move on high earners like James Tavernier, Cyriel Dessers, Danilo and Tom Lawrence while Clement will have to be imaginative as he looks to bring in free agents and arrange loans.
That message isn’t going to be popular with fans filled by enthusiasm after beating Celtic but Stewart is in place to turn around finances rather than throw around moonbeams.
Before today Clement has been diplomatically deflecting away questions about January transfer activity but after the 3-3 draw with Hibs he turned attention on the CEO who has yet to hold a media conference.
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That’s something that Patrick will address towards you guys. He wants to give that explanation what is the plan for January.
Every manager feels that [they need more], and for sure in the situation we are. For the moment with injuries and everything, but there’s also the situation of the club, you need to pay it also, and I’m not the one who can pay that. I don’t have that money.
Clement could easily have walked away last summer when it became clear that cost cutting was the priority rather than splashing the cash. Instead he stayed on and signed a new improved contract, one that runs until May 2028.
At the end of last season the contracts of John Lundstram, Borna Barisic and Ryan Jack were allowed to run out leaving the first team squad was seriously depleted. After that Connor Goldson, Sam Lammers, Scott Wright and Robbie McCrorie were sold for a combined total of £810,000.
Now halfway through the season Clement is dealing with a genuine injury crisis in defence with Dujon Sterling adding to that today.
John Souttar, Leon Balogun, Nana Kasanwirjo and James Tavernier are all currently out injured leaving Clement with Robin Propper and Leon King as his only available central defenders.
After a couple of days basking in the glow of beating Celtic reality returned for Clement today- now the onus is on Stewart to front up and explain the reality of austerity while the hoops motor towards #title55.
The feel good factor from beating Celtic lasted less than three days, now Stewart has to come out and explain to fans the direction that the club is going in with serious changes needed to stop losses similar to those reported last year.
That message isn’t likely to be popular with the vital Season Ticket renewal campaign expected to be launched in April.
