We were under real pressure but identity of our team shone through
NO matter the level of drama he’s confronted with, Brendan Rodgers remains remarkably adept at ensuring a full-blown crisis never takes grip at Celtic.
On Friday, as Moussa Dembele swung the lead in training, hours after lashing out on social media at his club’s reluctance to sell him, the Celtic boss, momentarily, looked to be navigating extremely stormy of waters.
Quite how the Northern Irishman would guide the club to a safer harbour and prepare for the visit of a resurgent Rangers within 48 hours was anyone guess.
This result, then, Rodgers’ tenth victory in 12 Old Firm matches, spoke volumes for his manmanagement and his remarkable ability to somehow turn an overwhelming negative into a positive.
‘I’ve always seen these type of games as opportunities,’ he stated. ‘And the players took that opportunity very well.’
There was absolutely no evidence that Celtic, mentally, had been weakened by events of the past week. They outplayed Rangers for the vast majority of this match, the slender margin of victory a poor reflection on the direction of the traffic.
‘It showed the togetherness,’ added Rodgers. ‘It was a very good performance. But I expect us to improve.
‘We saw the identity of the team today under big pressure. We’ve seen it in other games, whether it’s been at Hampden or Ibrox. I think that shone through there — the quality of the football and the spirit of the team.’
There was no little irony in the identity of Celtic’s match-winner and one of their best defensive performers.
Olivier Ntcham, the subject of interest from Porto this summer, capped a polished individual display with a sweeping finish.
One momentary lapse aside, Dedryck Boyata, a one-man soap opera this summer, was imperious.
‘That’s management. That’s your job. You can’t let these things drift,’ said Rodgers. ‘There was big interest in Olivier and Dedryck as well. But you sit down and talk with the players. You look at the pathway forward for them.
‘I’m sure they will leave at some point but then you have to be able to put them in a mindset, so they see the opportunity for them and then they will move on in the future. I think you saw both players’ performances today. Dedryck was outstanding.
‘Anything that came into the box, he defended it. We had a solid back four and goalkeeper.
‘It’s a shame for us in terms of the Champions League, however, it’s gone. He was great today and he’ll help us for the rest of the season.
‘Olivier was first-class. He is a real talent. You saw his passing ability and then his speed to get up on the counter-attack and finish off the goal. He had to travel 65 or 70 yards up the pitch.’ The debate over the legitimacy of Tom Rogic’s tackle on Ryan Jack moments earlier will rage for days. Steven Gerrard’s view of it was unambiguous. Rodgers’ was likewise.
‘I didn’t see it as a foul,’ said the Celtic manager. ‘I thought the ball came out of the box and the two of them have come together.
‘There wasn’t a lot of contact. What’s important is the referee, Willie (Collum), was right on the spot so he sees it. ‘There is still plenty of work to do when you break away and I thought that how we did it and got the goal to win the game was really very impressive.’ Commendably honest, Gerrard also refused to defend Allan McGregor for a kick at Kristoffer Ajer in the first half. ‘I haven’t seen it so I have nothing to add,’ said Rodgers.
While Rangers didn’t do enough to merit taking anything from the game, they were unquestionably more solid and harder to play through than in recent years.
Despite this setback and just one win from their opening four league games, they’ve improved immeasurably under their new manager.
‘Like he will do as a coach and manager, Steven will expect his team to improve and get better as the season goes on,’ added Rodgers. ‘I will expect my team to be better. What we showed today was the spirit, which is very clear in the team, but also the quality.
‘But there’s no doubt Steven has made a difference. It’s a real treacherous period of the season in Scotland but he has brought in some good players. They have got good tactical discipline in their game, so he has done very well.’
Given the many disruptive events of the summer, this felt like a seismic result for Rodgers.
It won’t, though, do anything to bolster a squad unquestionably weakened since last season, primarily due to the departures of Dembele and midfielder Stuart Armstrong.
‘I have to deal with it,’ said Rodgers. ‘The bigger picture is what I always think of — I think of the squad, of spirit within the team. There are opportunities for young Ryan Christie now.
‘We are down a striker, but I will always protect the mentality of the group. We have a lot of young players who can come through. I am looking forward to the coaching element between now and the end of December — as opposed to talking about transfers.’
Asked if he felt let down by the comings and goings of the transfer window, Rodgers replied: ‘I don’t want to go down that route again. It was clear it should have been a simple summer for us in terms of getting in the three, maximum four, players that we wanted.
‘That didn’t happen. We got some others in, good players who
will come in and help us. We will have a review, like we always do, so that is nothing new. We will sit and look at it and then we will push on with the rest of the season.’
Nothing pours oil on choppy waters quite like getting one over on your ancient rivals.
After a stormy couple of weeks, Celtic were always going to milk their lap of honour for all it was worth.
If the small diminished band of Rangers fans forced to sit through it would rather have been elsewhere by that point, no one at Celtic was about to make any apology.
‘We do it every game,’ said Rodgers. ‘It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s clear we appreciate the support — win, lose or draw.
‘Of course these games are extra special for the fans. I have to congratulate them, I thought the atmosphere was incredible. It was a real wall of noise around the stadium.
‘So they will be happy, the players are happy and I’m delighted with the performance.’