NOT TIME TO SHED TIERS
Kieran: It’s sad to see your mates get injured but we have to use our squad & move on
Celtic
1
Hibernian
0 KIERAN TIERNEY claims Celtic have the squad to cope without Leigh Griffiths and Craig Gordon.
Brenan Rodgers’s team showed the resilient side to their game as they beat Hibernian 1-0 at Parkhead on Saturday.
But there was a price to pay for the league leaders
The sight of Griffiths pounding the turf with frustration just four minutes after scoring the winner, a result of his troublesome calf giving way again, was bad enough for the Celtic faithful. But the news
THE STANDINGS
after the match that Gordon had suffered what looks like medial ligament damage on the same knee that has already cost him two years of his career cast a shadow over Celtic Park.
Rodgers is now looking for another goalkeeper before the transfer window closes on Wednesday night and with a view to the upcoming Europa League tie against Zenit St Petersburg.
Tierney (inset) was pleased with the way Celtic coped with adversity against a solid Hibs team.
The 20-year-old left-back said: “We knew it would be a tough game against Hibs, we hadn’t beaten them in the league this season.
“We knew what to expect, they’re a good team and the pitch wasn’t great for both teams.
“We defended well but we could have scored a few more goals as well.
“It’s a great win for us and a great clean sheet - but you don’t want injuries to happen and it is just unfortunate.
“Unfortunately Craig had to come off but hopefully it’s not too serious.
“Leigh had come back in and it’s a shame for him. He’s had a couple of niggles with his calf before.
“He’s got us six points in the last two games with two winners so it’s very unfortunate. But I’m sure he’ll come back again.
“But anyone who comes in, we believe in them.
“Everyone in this squad has proved themselves before.
“That’s why you have a big squad and now we’ll need it. It’s great that we have depth in every position.”
Rodgers claimed a strong defence was key to the victory against Neil Lennon’s side.
“I felt that if we could defend well we would have a great chance of winning the game,” he said.
“We played well in the other games but at times haven’t defended well. And that was how it turned out.”
Former Celtic boss Lennon will look to add a striker to his squad before the January transfer window closes.
He said: “I hope so. We are trying to work on that, a bit of physicality wouldn’t go amiss.
“Attacking-wise we are not scoring or taking the chances we should.
“We didn’t have gilt-edged chances against Celtic but we had decent chances and you don’t get that many there at times.”