Brendan Rodgers delivers stinging response to his media critics after Celtic show up Rangers again

Brendan Rodgers was not messing around in his post-match media conference after Celtic beat Rangers, declaring that he’d been treated like a “novice” since returning to Scottish football.

Rodgers guided the Bhoys to their third victory of the season against the Ibrox side on Saturday, winning 2-1 thanks to a Matt O’Riley finish and a John Lundstram own goal.

Celtic have taken 10 points from 12 available in the derby this term. It’s form that has made it almost impossible for them to be toppled as defending champions.

Rodgers and his team need just a single point from their last two matches to be confirmed as three-in-a-row title winners.

After the derby celebrations, Rodgers delivered a strong message in his press conference. He referenced comments Chris Sutton made in December about him “going through the motions” as Celtic boss since returning.

Brendan Rodgers hits back at ‘novice’ treatment
Rodgers said [Clyde 1]: “I heard somebody saying about ‘Brendan Rodgers going through the motions’ earlier on in the season. I get to work between 07:30am and 08:00am every day of my life. I leave the training ground between 6:30pm and 07:00pm. I get home and have my dinner then I flip on my computer and look at more football. If that’s going through the motions, I want to know what every other manager is doing. What is every other manager doing if I’m going through the motions?

“On a personal level, I’ve been treated like a novice since I’ve come back here, like it’s my first job. However, my principal objective is to make sure Celtic win. Part of that is part of the criticism, I understand that.

“The mentality of the team is the most important to me. That mentality you can see from where we were with injuries, how we’ve progressed, how we stayed unified, how we stayed together and then how we got to this point when we’re nearly crossing the finish line. We don’t just want to cross it, we want to spring across it.”

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