RODGERS HAILS BATTLE HARDENED HOOPS

BRENDAN Rodgers hailed his Hoops for slamming down a signpost on the Premiership title trail with their huge win against Aberdeen.

Celtic were under pressure against the Dons with Rangers breathing down their necks – but pulled nine points clear after piling on more Pittodrie pain.

Rodgers, left, made it 10 wins in a row against the Granite City side with Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney hitting the target on a dramatic clash in the north east.

Mikael Lustig, inset, saw red with a quarter of an hour to go but Tierney ripped home a second after Aberdeen had threatened to blow the title race wide open.

Celts were reeling but dug deep just three days after the

Europa League disappointment in

Russia.

Sub Sam Cosgrove was shown a straight red seconds later on a nightmare debut as Celtic send out a massive message on intent ahead of the run in.

Rodgers said: “I am really proud of the players. It was always going to be a really tough game.

“It was another signpost towards where we want to go and a fantastic win for us.

“It was always going to be a big game. They always are against Aberdeen.

“When you play a day later there can be a bit more pressure on you. We focus on ourselves and what we can do.

“But to go to Aberdeen and win after the game midweek was a brilliant victory for us just 72 hours after coming back from Russia.

“It’s arguably the toughest place to go away to so soon after a game like Zenit.”