DON’T BLOW IT
Celtic boss tells ref he can’t get it wrong again
BRENDAN RODGERS last night told Don Robertson he cannot afford another highprofile blunder if he hopes to make it as a top referee.
Hard on the heels of awarding Ross County a penalty against Celtic when it was evident Alex Schalk had dived, the official will be stationed behind a goal for tomorrow’s Old Firm semifinal at Hampden as an additional assistant referee.
Earlier this week, Rodgers took a call from John Fleming during which the SFA’s head of referees apologised on Robertson’s behalf.
The Celtic manager insists he has no issue with him being involved tomorrow — but warned that a repeat of such a glaring error would have a hugely detrimental effect upon his career. ‘I don’t want to throw the kid
ONE of football’s great fallacies is that the form book goes out the window in Old Firm matches. History shows that the side with the greater strength and momentum tends to come out on top. Which is not to say strange things cannot happen.
Rangers arrived at Celtic Park last month on the back of three defeats to Celtic already this season, marshalled by a youth coach in Graeme Murty and, in the eyes of the nation’s turf accountants, completely wasting their time.
Notwithstanding what seemed a clear foul in the box by Clint Hill on Leigh Griffiths at the death, the Ibrox men gave as good as they got to deservedly leave with a precious point won through the veteran defender’s late equaliser.
As disappointing as the outcome was for Brendan Rodgers, what unfolded that afternoon was in its own way comforting for the Celtic manager.
That Rangers had played well, perhaps even above themselves, was beyond dispute. So, too, was the fact a Celtic side that had rolled out its A-game so frequently this season just didn’t fire. While the jubilation of the visiting hordes at claiming an unlikely point was entirely understandable, it was easy to lose sight of the fact that honours had actually ended even.
The chances of both sides turning in similar displays tomorrow? In Rodgers’ view, remote.
‘We always take our own responsibility. We didn’t play so well, but should have won,’ he recalled yesterday.
‘We were up in the game and didn’t quite react to the second phase of a free-kick late on.
‘We had an opportunity to win it, but it’s okay. We can’t be perfect. We take great strength from the fact we didn’t play so well, Rangers probably played as well as what they’ll play, and we still drew the game.
‘It was a wee reminder, really, that we need to be playing well and performing well. Sometimes you can perform well and lose a game and I will always take that. This is a different game coming at a different moment.’
Celtic looked leggy that afternoon. Rodgers could perhaps have coped with one of his star performers being off the pace but the poorest days of Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele’s Celtic careers coincided.
It was hardly a cause for flaying the pair in public. A hint of a malaise ran throughout the side, unsurprisingly, given the schedule and the standards they have set this term.
It was only the second time Celtic had dropped points domestically all season. Since then, both Partick Thistle and Ross County have followed suit — fuelling the theory that Rodgers’ side aren’t quite at the level they were earlier in the season.
Were that to be evident tomorrow, a hungry, ruthless Rangers might just inflict a first loss in 41 games. But as he mulled over a squad without a single absentee, Rodgers harboured no such fears.
‘That demonstrates a few things,’ he added. ‘It demonstrates the periodisation of our work physically. ‘We don’t just turn up and make it up every day. There’s a periodised programme that we have for our technical and tactical work and for our physicality. ‘We wanted to arrive into this game at optimum level and that meant availability, confidence and the nature of our game. ‘We can’t be any more prepared. We can’t have any more players available and we’re ready.’
He has good reason to believe his side will simply have too much for Pedro Caixinha’s men.
Celtic this season have been a model of consistency. The last outing against their great rivals was notable because of the rarity of such lacklustre displays under the Northern Irishman.
With a few notable exceptions, Rodgers’ big players have turned up in the big games.
‘The players have been absolutely magnificent,’ he said.
‘The way they’ve approached games, their appetite to learn and to work.
‘There have been so many measures and landmarks along the way. Any wee setbacks they’ve had which have been in the Champions League, they’ve bounced straight back and performed. They are hungry to succeed.’
The fall-out from these local Glasgow skirmishes can be nuclear. Just ask Ronny Deila.
This time last year, the Norwegian entered the corresponding fixture seeking the win that would take him closer to the Double. A defeat on penalties to then Championship side Rangers saw him issued with his P45.
Common courtesy prevents Rodgers besmirching the name of his predecessor by comparing Celtic then with now. Less generous observers might do so by invoking the words ‘night’ and ‘day’.
‘I can only really answer about the progression since I came in,’ said Rodgers. ‘Last season in that game, Rangers were high in confidence, up in the Championship and getting ready to come up. Celtic were in that wee phase towards the end of the season where just the timing was maybe difficult for them.
‘Even though Celtic didn’t play so well they could still have, and arguably should have, won the game. Rangers deserved to win it, but it’s a different coach, different team, different mentality, as we’ve seen throughout the season.’
Much water has flown under the Kingston Bridge since that day. Deila is now back in Norway with Valerenga, while Mark Warburton landed at Nottingham Forest after failing to build on his early promise.
Caixinha, who the Celtic boss met at Thursday’s Glasgow Cup Final, now becomes the third Ibrox manager Rodgers has encountered in as many derby games.
‘He’s a nice fella, to be fair. We spoke briefly at half-time,’ he said.
‘He’s coming into an interesting Scottish football league. He’s looked to put his stamp on it — let’s see if he gets my team right.’
Caixinha opted against predicting Rodgers’ side on Thursday and the Northern Irishman was hardly likely to make such a bold proclamation 24 hours later.
Rodgers added: ‘They look as if they go direct at times. Martyn Waghorn is taking long throws into the box. I noticed that.
‘Obviously, Pedro has come in and has his own ideas, ways of working and he wants to set them up in a slightly different way. They still look to play, they’re still open but they look more pragmatic.’