Rodgers celebrates the spirit of Stein

By Graeme Macpherson

BRENDAN Rodgers paid tribute to both Jock Stein and his late father after leading Celtic to a comprehensive 5-1 thrashing of Rangers in the first Old Firm league game for more than four years.

A hat-trick from Moussa Dembele – the first in this fixture in the league since 1966 – supplemented by goals from Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong saw Celtic run out comfortable winners at home to a Rangers side whose only riposte was a Joe Garner effort just before half time. The Ibrox side also had Philippe Senderos sent off on his debut, while assistant manager David Weir was sent to the stand by referee Willie Collum during the second half.

The victory extends Celtic’s lead over Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership to four points having played a game less.

Rodgers revealed it was a poignant day for him on the anniversary of the deaths of both Jock Stein, his legendary predecessor, in 1985 and his dad Malachy in 2011.

“It is ironic that today is the 31st anniversary of Jock Stein,” said the Celtic manager. “This is a guy who created a template here and I am very proud there is a team today which can play aggressively but fairly and one which when things go wrong can have that mentality to bounce back. I spoke about Jock in my team talk.

“There were two today. My father is five years dead today so it was ironic we scored five goals. When you beat one of your rivals it’s a wee bit sweeter, and that was the message. But it was primarily about the guy looking down, the man who set the tone for this club, the template. We said that if he is looking down make sure we do him proud.”

Scott Brown was more succinct. “I think the scoreline talks for itself,” said the captain, who may have to join Leigh Griffiths on the sidelines for Celtic’s game against Barcelona on Tuesday. “It was pretty much men versus boys at the end of the day.”

Rangers manager Mark Warburton did not try to hide his disappointment. “Today Celtic have the bragging rights and they deserved to win. But there’s no major gulf,” he said.