Rodgers stays focused on the game in hand
Brendan Rodgers will head for Perth today believing the Premiership pacesetters are nicely positioned in the field, as opposed to kicking for home in the final furlong. Wednesday night’s win over this afternoon’s opponents, St Johnstone, saw the Hoops move six points clear at the top of the table with 15 fixtures remaining for all teams. And, while this weekend’s staggered league card means they will have to beat Saints in today’s instant rematch to win back their advantage, the conversion of game-inhand to points on the board has bolstered the confidence of all those at Celtic.
“Before Wednesday, what I said to the players was that we have looked at this game in hand for two months now, and everyone has talked about it and looked at the league,” said Rodgers. “We’ve wanted the game, so we are on level games with everyone but we had to make it count, to play well and take the three points and we did that.
“We’ve been over the course before.
“I feel the team gets stronger in the second part of the season and they have started that way after a break we needed.
“We got away to Dubai, got a bit of sun on our backs, hit the reset button and the players have come back looking fresh and dynamic. There are still 15 games to go, we’ve got a nice gap, but I never say a cushion.
“There’s still a lot can happen. “You’ve just got to concentrate on winning your games and let’s see where we are at with five or six games to go.”
The loss to Rangers in the Old Firm derby at the end of the year prompted plenty of chat that Celtic’s run of titles would be halted at seven-in-a-row. However, the manager himself insists he stayed focused on the bigger picture.
“We went through a spell when we had so many games away. “I think we had three games at home from 16 somebody said over the course the games we played,” he said. “Everyone’s on the same games now, we know where we’re at, we’ve strengthened the squad.
“It was interesting speaking to (St Johnstone manager) Tommy Wright the other night after we played them, about the intensity in the team was impressive in terms of they couldn’t get out. “That’s always a good sign for me that, fundamentally, we are defending well, that the aggression is really keeping teams in there.
“So, although there is a lot of work still to do, but we are in good place and looking forward to the challenge which is ahead of us.”