Brendan Rodgers was in no mood to entertain suggestions that his decision to bring on Johnny Kenny ahead of new signing Shin Yamada at the weekend raised eyebrows among supporters.

With Celtic looking for a breakthrough against St Mirren, Adam Idah was replaced by Kenny, while Yamada, who netted in pre-season against Al Ahli, remained on the bench.

Many expected Yamada, who arrived from Japan midway through their season, to get teh nod when Rodgers decided to make a few changes, but it was the Irishman who took to teh pitch.

Asked in Friday’s press conference whether fans might have been surprised by the call, Rodgers responded sharply, and made it clear he wasnt a fan of the question.

“Who was surprised by it? I don’t know whether you watched the game, but I put Johnny Kenny on,” he said. “You can only play 11 players and we have a big squad. Adam came off, Johnny came on, and we scored. We freshened the team with two 8s and one of them scored.

“I can only play 11 players. I know in football people’s values grow when they’re not playing. I always decide what is right for the team. If Shin doesn’t come on, I don’t think he’s right for that moment. Johnny has done well in pre-season — worked hard, been intense, created goals.

“I’ll always make changes based on what the game needs. If I am to answer every question of a player not playing or playing, we’ll be sitting here all day and night.”

Watch from 18.50 for the interaction.

Rodgers’ comments come as Johnny Kenny signs a new Celtic deal.

The striker put pen-to-paper on a new contract until 2029, with his original meant to expire in 2026.

There have been suggestions that this could allow Kenny to head out on loan, something that was productive for him last season, but Rodgers has not confirmed his plans for the striker.

Bolton have been tracking the striker, and were linked to him earlier in the window. Whether they come back into the fray or not remains to be seen.