Bren: Enjoy tonight then back to business
CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has told his players to enjoy a day off before getting down to business ahead of Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup final at Hampden.
The Parkhead side lost 1-0 to Aberdeen yesterday as they hosted a title party and while Rodgers believes the afternoon had to be seen in the context of the season, he will be looking to get a better performance out of his players this weekend.
It was a tired display from Celtic – “that was our 60th competitive game,” explained Rodgers – but he is looking for one more big showing from his side as the Hoops aim for an unprecedented backto-back Treble.
“I will sit with the staff and we will have a look during the week,” said Rodgers. “We’ll think about what is the best plan to beat Motherwell, then from there we will try to pick the best team to implement that plan. I have quality in that squad, we can enjoy tonight, recover and then get ready for the next game.”
Moussa Dembele played for 50 minutes before the arrival of Leigh Griffiths and it was important for both players to get some game time.
“Thankfully Moussa has come through the game and we tried to get some minutes into Leigh, because they are our two options really,” explained the Celtic manager.
There will be suggestions from certain quarters that Celtic’s failure to beat the Dons robbed Rangers of their chance to finish second after they slugged out a 5-5 draw against Hibs at Easter Road.
“We did everything to actually try and win the game. So I think conspiracy in this case certainly wouldn’t apply,” said Rodgers.