Boss hails record but won’t allow any let-up

BRENDAN RODGERS last night hailed the spirit of his side as Celtic crushed Hearts 4-0 to establish a new domestic record.

However, the 44-year-old manager insisted that Celtic won’t stop there after going 27 games without defeat since the start of the season.

“It’s huge. I know, of course, the history of this club – 129 years – and how difficult it is,” said Rodgers.

“So it’s an incredible run. Every accolade the players get, they deserve, because of the focus, the spirit they foster within the team, and the quality of the football they are producing.

“So we are very proud. I’ve said to them again, ‘Now we set the challenge going forward – we just have to keep winning.’

That comes from our work on a day-to-day to basis, our concentration and just making sure we take care of all the background noise that goes on around it and just focus on the football.

“The idea is to keep going. I try to focus on what we can control, which is your training and how you approach the game.

“If you think too much about it, the players will tell you. I have virtually not spoken about it at all because there is enough pressure to win football matches.

“The consequence for us of playing well and training well is winning games. For us, it is a huge plus. They are out there on their own now which is an incredible achievement.

“We have now got to look to Wednesday [at home to Aberdeen] and to keeping it running and to keep winning games.

“It is a great group to work with and I think it is going to be an exciting period for us going forward. But just one game at a time, that is our approach.”

Celtic were able to canter to the win without Moussa Dembele, Leigh Griffiths or Stuart Armstrong, with Rodgers delighted with how his side adapted to being without an established frontman.

“It just shows how well the players work together,” said Rodgers. “When you think of our goalscorers predominantly this season – take out Scott Sinclair – and it’s been Dembele, Griffiths, Rogic and Armstrong. Those four weren’t playing today.

“We looked at trying to play Scott through the middle with James [Forrest] and Patrick [Roberts] on the sides. I felt after the first 20 minutes, it wasn’t quite working for us. So we switched Scott back into his natural position out wide and put Patrick in the middle.

“Patrick has maybe more flexibility in his movement, to come in and play as that central striker, and he was outstanding. He really linked the game for us – bright and clever.

“Our ability to press the game was outstanding. We were defending forward, playing the game at high pressure.

“I can see what [Hearts head coach] Ian [Cathro] is trying to do with his team – to get the fluency – but our pressing was very impressive and gave Hearts very few opportunities at all.”

Rodgers will assess Dembele before Wednesday night’s game before deciding whether or not he is fit enough to feature.

“He got a knock on his knee last Wednesday night and it has swollen up,” he explained. “It wasn’t worth the risk and we’ll see how he responds to treatment.”

Armstrong, too, will be assessed but Rodgers has urged Griffiths to concentrate on his fitness levels.

“Stuart was a little bit tight around his hamstring,” said the Celtic manager.

“He felt it yesterday, but felt maybe after the warmup he would be alright. But he felt it getting a bit tighter. There was no need to risk it.

“Leigh has struggled for a while now. He needs to get fit because he keeps breaking down. He played the other night for 15 minutes, came off and his other calf was tight.

“He needs to get his body right before he can even think about playing in games. That is what he is doing.”