Rodgers hits out as Celtic seal pivotal Old Firm win

CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers hit back at critics who treated him “like a novice” as he hailed the mentality of his team following a seasondefining victory over Rangers.

A 2-1 Parkhead triumph moved Celtic six points and seven goals clear of their rivals with two cinch Premiership matches left.

The champions had lost a sevenpoint lead over Gers but never saw the title slip out of their own hands, and they have moved within a point of glory ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Kilmarnock. against Rangers. “From a personal perspective, I am surprised in a way where I heard somebody saying ‘Brendan Rodgers was going through the motions’ earlier in the season.

“Now, I get to work between half seven and eight o’clock every day of my life. I leave the training ground between half six and seven o’clock at night. And then when I get home, I have my dinner and probably flip on the computer and watch more football.

“Now, if

that’s going through the motions, I want to know what every other manager is doing. So, from a personal level, I have been treated like a novice since I’ve come back here. Like it’s my first job.

“But it’s the mentality of the team that is most important to me, and that mentality you can see from where we were, with injuries, how we progressed, how we stayed unified and together, and how we then get to this point where we are nearly crossing the finishing line.

“And we don’t just want to cross it, we want to sprint over it.”