Celtic boss Rodgers praises Wright and his Saints

CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers was absolutely lavish in his praise of St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright and his team after the Hoops had inflicted a 5-2 defeat on Saints at McDiarmid Park.

“Tommy Wright is a great man and his side were very impressive,” he said, adding: “They are a very experienced side whose players all know their jobs and they keep going to the end.”

Saints led 2-1 at half-time with goals by Keith Watson and a Dedryk Boyata own goal after Liam Henderson had given Celtic an early lead.

The turning point came soon after the interval when, in the space of a minute, Saints were denied a penalty by referee Craig Thomson when Danny Swanson was felled in the box by Scott Brown and then the whistler gave Celtic a spot-kick when the ball appeared to strike Watson on the bottom of his back before grazing his elbow.

Substitute Moussa Dembele levelled from the spot and added two more before Scott Sinclair netted No 5.

Saints manager Wright was an angry man, stating: “I was proud of my players, they were magnificent.

“We got our noses in front and then it was snatched away from us.

“There was contact on Danny Swanson but no penalty was given and how he could give a spot-kick at the other end is beyond me.

“It is not a penalty. If I live to be 100 it should never be a penalty. He couldn’t wait to give it.

“I shouted to him on the pitch and he gestured that both hands were up and it was almost as if he had caught the ball which didn’t happen. It is a game changer.”

Ray McKinnon