Ex-Celtic star stunned by what he is hearing about Brendan Rodger

The Northern Irishman is losing the trust of the Celtic fanbase and it might be fair to say he’s already lost it from a section of the disgruntled support. Celtic fans are bored to tears with the performances that have been on show, particularly across the first part of 2024. The Hoops haven’t lost a Scottish Premiership clash since December 16, as per FotMob, but mediocrity on the park is becoming the norm. Celtic have drew two of their last four games in the league and that’s the most damning statistic. Those results have allowed a relentless Rangers side to catch up at the top of the table and open up a two-point gap between them and their arch-rivals.

It’s an inconceivable turn of events for the champions who once held an eight-point lead in the league when Rangers were in turmoil under Michael Beale in October. Chris Sutton says Celtic’s decent results since the middle of December have simply papered over the cracks and urged Brendan Rodgers to take responsibility for the lack of good performances. But a stunned John Hughes thinks the Northern Irishman knows exactly what needs to be done and ‘Yogi’ is noticing Rodgers’ attempts at mixing things up to get the best out of a flailing pool of players at this juncture of the campaign. Hughes offered a stout defence of Brendan Rodgers when speaking to the Daily Record and has backed Celtic to hit form again because the sheer amount of winners they have in the Parkhead dressing room. John Hughes, who played for Celtic during a trophy-less 1995/96 season, said: “I can’t believe the criticism of Brendan. We are talking about an elite manager.

“This is a real tactician – who is up there with the best of them. You don’t throw your principles out of the window when you’ve had great success doing it. “Brendan has a football philosophy – you change for no one. You stick to it and make it better. People talk about a plan B, yes you can mix it up, but it’s improving plan A. That’s what he will do. isten, there’s no getting away from the fact they have let an eight-point lead slip. But every time they have faced Rangers they have come up with the goods and you just know he will be working hard to get going again. “Brendan’s analysis has been spot on. He’s said they have been a bit too slow, needing to produce the intensity for 90 minutes, beating the low block – it’s nothing he’s not identified.

“I’ve been watching him from a coaching point of view and you can see he’s trying things, going to the 4-4-2 with Kyogo just off Adam Idah. He’s doing everything he can to help the players. Brendan knows exactly what is required. “It can change in a heartbeat. They can produce a performance for 90 minutes and score a few goals, all of a sudden the confidence rises and the momentum comes back. “Celtic have winners in that dressing room. You pick up injuries, some guys go off form, it can happen. But winners come back. It’s only a matter of time before Celtic hit form again – that’s what they do at this time of year.”

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