STAN PETROV took offence to Brendan Rodgers comments about players developing under the spotlight of the Champions League.
The former Celtic midfielder was on the TNT panel with old Hoops teammate Neil Lennon.
Petrov believes Rodgers missed the mark by not pushing these players enough to be ready or putting them in a mind frame where they’re ready to make an impact in the Champions League.
Petrov ranted live on TNT Sports, “I strongly disagree with Brendan. We’re not talking about development? This is the Champions League.
“This is something that you have to be ready for. This is what the club demands.
“And those players have played together long enough. Two or three changes because of the situations. But I believe that the manager, manager Brendan Rodgers, should be willing to push the players and give them the confidence that they can go and win. That they’re ready.
“Not about development. We’re talking about Celtic breaking to the next stage. This is what it’s all about. Developing in those games? That doesn’t stand for me.”
Celtic’s Luis Palma looks dejected after the match Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Stan was a great footballer but as a pundit, he leaves a lot to be desired. To suggest the Celtic manager was doing anything BUT building up the players he had chosen to put out there against Lazio is wide of the mark.
Rodgers comments after the game were putting an arm around those players who maybe feel like they could have contributed more or felt a little lost at times.
Celtic had a controlled performance against Lazio and looked better than the opposition. So Stan is completely wrong in what he’s saying. The harsh reality is the fine margins in which games are won and lost have gone against us.
And players coming into their own and making the difference going forward are players like Matt O’Riley who had a standout game. He is developing on the bigger stage, and players should always come out of these games having learned a lot about themselves.
