Brendan Rodgers was open and honest post-match this afternoon as the Hoops fell to a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox in the Glasgow derby.
With Celtic still comfortably clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership and having recently beaten Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final, Rodgers was quick to remind that the defeat won’t define the Hoops’ season.
He said: (Sky Sports), “We look at the bigger picture, we’re halfway through the season, we’re 11 points clear. Today is a little reminder that we need to keep pushing and fighting.”
Celtic supporters will be hopeful today was a one-off, and given it’s just the Bhoys’ second defeat of the season, Rodgers will be hopeful that they can bounce back against St Mirren at Celtic Park on Sunday.
However, the nature of the defeat this afternoon was a real disappointment, with many rightfully feeling that the team’s performance fell short of the high standards they’ve already set this season.
Areas of the team do need to be strengthened if Celtic are to improve in the second half of the season, and that is the bigger picture with regards to the Champions League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish Premiership.
With Greg Taylor out of contract in the summer and reportedly interested in joining Dinamo Zagreb on a pre-contract, and with Alex Valle only on loan from Barcelona with no option to buy in the loan deal, left-back appears to be the first position in the team that may be addressed this month.
A new winger was clearly an area where Celtic could have benefited this afternoon, with the ability to replace Daizen Maeda or Nicolas Kuhn in the game, with either failing to have any impact on the match.
Two other areas in the team that were shown to be a real issue were at centre-back and in midfield, with Liam Scales failing to impress and Austin Trusty on the bench.
This shows that Rodgers does not have faith in Trusty yet to start him at Ibrox.
In midfield, Celtic were crying out for someone to help Callum McGregor, who was marked out of the game, with Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate ineffective.
The Hoops missed Matt O’Riley, who in a game like this afternoon would’ve taken the ball and looked to drive the Hoops up the pitch, creating further space for McGregor.
On the whole, today may present an opportunity for Rodgers to look at strengthening the team this month, with certain areas of the team in question.
