Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers wasn’t afraid to call out the club’s supporters after yesterday afternoon’s 3-0 win over St. Mirren.
Nicolas Kuhn opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark before Auston Trusty got his first goal in green and white to make it 2-0 just before the break.
Starman Kuhn added a third in the second half as the Bhoys wrapped up a comfortable day at the office and went 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Post-match, those in the Parkhead media suite expected a routine press conference, although that was far from the case, as Rodgers went full in on the fans.
He criticised them for their frustration when the ball was passed backwards in the early stages and for singing Kieran Tierney’s name, which he cited as disrespectful towards current left-back Greg Taylor.
Regarding his calling out of the groans, Rodgers has clearly been aware of this issue for some time because he brought up a previous example from a few months ago.
Indeed, the manager reflected back on how the Celtic Park crowd got restless when Daizen Maeda made a backpass against Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League in November, only for him to score moments later: “Don’t panic,” he said (Celtic FC on YouTube).
“Don’t start getting on to them [the players] because we’re trying to get another attack.
“The best example of that this season was against Club Brugge.
“We’re in the Champions League. Daizen Maeda’s going forward. He turns, he plays a backward pass to change the point of attack. The pressure on that guy when he did that, thankfully he coped with it. The noise, the negativity around that. We then change the picture, he then gets it back again and now he’s free. He cuts inside, he gets a shot. Now everyone’s happy.
“So for us, if we play a backward pass, a sideways pass is to change the point of attack. And the players deserve more, the players deserve the trust. And that was my annoyance today.”
Rodgers’ surprise criticism of the Celtic supporters came as somewhat of a surprise.
The Hoops are in a fine position on the park and off it, and causing division among the fans is never a good idea.
