Hugh Keevins hasn’t held back in his assessment of Brendan Rodgers and Celtic following last weekend’s Glasgow Derby defeat at Celtic Park.

Writing in his Daily Record column, the veteran journalist pointed to a growing frustration among the Celtic support, noting the pattern of leaking goals in big games.

Celtic have now conceded three goals in each of their last three meetings with Rangers – at Hampden in the League Cup Final, at Ibrox in January, and now at home in the latest league showdown. While Rodgers has brought domestic dominance and still has his team on track for the title and potentially a treble, Keevins suggests that repeated failings against Rangers are beginning to grate on supporters.

“The Rangers manager who can’t beat Celtic can’t remain as Rangers manager, as Clement found out. The Celtic manager who loses three goals to Rangers almost every time he faces them gives the Hoops fans the hump, as Brendan is discovering.

“I’ve listened to their complaints on the radio. The manager doesn’t learn from his mistakes in the derby.

“Rangers are now beating Celtic at will. The antidote to aggravation for Rodgers, and a disgruntled support, is to go to Ibrox for the final derby of the season with his team having already been confirmed as league champions for a fourth time in a row. And use that occasion to disprove the theory that when Celtic play Rangers, it looks as if Rangers are better than Celtic.”

There’s little doubt that frustration is building among a section of the Celtic support, particularly with how cheaply goals have been conceded in the biggest domestic fixture. Keevins offered a solution of sorts – win the league before the final derby at Ibrox and then use that game as an opportunity to set the record straight.

The Celtic players have a point to prove and so does the manager, so there should be no talk of a ‘dead rubber’ game for the game at Ibrox in the coming weeks.