Brendan Rodgers laughs off Celtic fan troll attempt as old school songbook branded 'part of the dance'
Brendan Rodgers saluted the Celtic support for sticking with his side as he laughed off the succession of old Bhoys chants.
The Hoops boss was thrilled to see off Dundee United 2-0 to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to a whopping 16 points. And he was delighted to draw a line under his recent anger at some of the reactions from the crowd. Rodgers wasn’t pleased at some groans when trying to break down St Mirren at the weekend but the punters stayed patient last night despite the killer second goal not arriving until late on.
And he was amused at the roll of former favourites serenaded from the stands after he had a pop at fans chanting Kieran Tierney’s name against Saints as a slight against Greg Taylor. When asked if he liked the response, Rodgers said: Absolutely. The crowd were brilliant. They can get a bit edgy. We are a support that can fret a wee bit but I think it was there.
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“That support was so important. It was fantastic tonight. It was such a cold night to come out and see the team. The numbers turned up and gave the team a great support. That allowed us to push us over the line. Greg? He’s absolutely fine with it. I think it's probably a bigger deal made of it than what it actually was.
“My observation I made. It's gone now. He was very good in the game as he always is. He's very consistent and had a really good performance.”
As for the cheeky former players songbook, Rodgers said: “Everyone apart from the kit man! He was the only one that missed out tonight. It's all part of the dance here. My job was to put the best team on the pitch and win consistently. “Everyone can smile.”
Rodgers was grinning with another win as Celtic made it six points out of six since the shock Old Firm defeat last week. Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate bagged the goals and the manager said: “It was a really good win for us. I thought that the first half we had a lot of control in the game and got into some really good areas and maybe could have been more in front.
“The second half, for a little spell, we lost a little bit of our attacking connection in the game. So we weren't as fluent getting through the pitch. Then, for the little spell, we had to defend long, direct free kicks and long throw-ins into the box. We came through that spell really well and then obviously finished off getting the second goal in.
“It was a thoroughly deserved win. From the first whistle we were trying to impose ourselves in the game and get into some really good areas. I felt we could have crossed it one or two more times than what we did do. But the effort of the players and what they gave.
“This is a game where very few times you give little and get the rewards. So you have to give everything in. The players have done that and they got the rewards in the end. So I'm really pleased with that.
“But there's still such a way to go. It's 21 games, so you still get 17 games to go. I don't think there's ever complacency.
“Players always guard against that contentment. This is a club that's not complacent. It's a club that we strive to be the best that we can possibly be, to keep improving and that's the culture of how we work. You can win and win and win. I think it keeps that flow going and that mentality. The players are in a good flow at the moment.”
Nicolas Kuhn pulled up in the warm up with a thigh problem and is a doubt for Saturday’s trip to Ross County. Rodgers said: “We'll see in the morning what it is. He just felt something on the top of his thigh. He didn't think he could risk it. We had to take him out and put Yang in.
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