BROWN SWEAT
Celtic captain’s injury spoils big win for Rodgers
BRENDAN RODGERS last night admitted the Celtic Park crowd were long overdue the sparkling attacking performance that defeated Hibernian, but stated that the 4-2 win had come at a cost, with captain Scott Brown a major injury doubt for Thursday’s Europa League tie against RB Leipzig.
Brown was substituted immediately after Olivier Ntcham had put the champions 2-0 up in yesterday’s Premiership clash, with Rodgers revealing the key midfielder’s withdrawal had not been a precautionary measure with the trip to Germany in mind.
Brown had missed Celtic’s two previous matches, against Salzburg and St Johnstone, with a hamstring problem but despite three weeks’ rest, he pulled up with an unspecified injury early in the game.
Without the captain anchoring the midfield, Celtic looked more vulnerable, but although Hibs took advantage by scoring twice after half-time, a second-half double from striker Odsonne Edouard secured a result that meant the Parkhead side leapfrogged Hibs into second place in the table.
‘I’d think Scott will be a doubt but we won’t know
for sure for a couple of days,’ said Rodgers.
‘It looked a sore one when he was coming off, so I just have to wait and see on that. You know what he’s like, he’s a warrior and will do everything he can to be there.
‘He looked like he was struggling and although he wanted to play on he wasn’t going to do himself or the team any favours as he was struggling to get about the pitch.
‘He thought it was maybe his calf and then maybe his knee. We’ll just have to wait and see.’
Although Celtic were also missing Leigh Griffiths yesterday, the team’s attacking play was too much for Neil Lennon’s Hibs, with Tom Rogic giving the home team the lead in the eighth minute.
By Rodgers’ own admission the team ‘stood still’ during the summer transfer window and have not displayed the fluency that was the hallmark of his team’s back-to-back Treble-winning seasons.
‘I thought the rhythm and speed of our game was back,’ he added. ‘We’ve seen it coming over the last number of weeks, highlighted in our win against St Johnstone.
‘I think we’ve all seen the development of the team and we stood still as a club when we should have really gone into another gear.
‘We didn’t do that and now we’re starting to move again. We’re starting to play with quality and at a level I know we can play at.
‘What was really good was that not only did we win the game today but we entertained the people. There hasn’t been enough times this season when we’ve done that. In the first couple of years we were winning well, with real style, and we did that today.
‘It’s great for the supporters who pay to watch and it’s synonymous with Celtic.’
Hearts’ win over Aberdeen means Celtic remain five points from the summit of the table, with Hibs a further two points back.
Rodgers admitted he enjoyed the novelty of facing opponents determined to take the game to his team on its own patch.
‘It was always going to be a fantastic football game with two teams that started wanting to win the game,’ he continued. ‘It was a game where you had to work very hard as a coach or manager.
‘We started the game playing 4-3-3, they played 3-5-2. At 2-0 up, they changed to a diamond, we changed to three-diamond-three at half-time. So there was lots of work in the game and I love that aspect.
‘Overall, we scored four goals, hit the woodwork four times and had other opportunities where, with a bit more finesse, we could have finished the game.
‘It was a wonderful attacking performance and we put a lot of work into our pressing, which is important against a good Hibs team.’