Brendan Rodgers watched his Celtic side fall to a painful Scottish Cup final defeat against Aberdeen, losing on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The result ended any chance of a domestic treble this season.
After the match, Rodgers asked fans to look at the bigger picture, reminding them that Celtic still have won the league title and the League Cup this season.
He said: (BBC Sport), “Looking at the bigger picture, we won the league title, won the League Cup, sadly we just couldn’t go that next step.
“It’s been a really good season for us. This will hurt. That’s your motivation, that drives you going into next season.
“There’s no doubt that any setback you have provides that stimulus and motivation going forward. It’s a sore one today.
“But we can’t have any complaints, we always look at ourselves and we didn’t do enough in the offensive side of the game.”
Rodgers clearly still believes it has been a strong campaign overall, despite the cup final disappointment. He wants the team and the fans to take the positives and be ready for what comes next.
Since January, Celtic have lost five domestic games. That’s a major shift from their strong start to the season, when they went unbeaten for six months.
Injuries to key players like Reo Hatate and Jota hurt the team this afternoon, and others have struggled to maintain consistency, with Kyogo’s sale in January undoubtedly proving costly this afternoon.
Celtic supporters will feel the sting of missing out on a treble, but Rodgers is focused on learning the lessons and coming back stronger next season. Let’s hope he can improve the team in the summer transfer window while keeping the likes of Daizen Maeda and Greg Taylor.
