Celtic will be aiming for a big response this weekend against St. Johnstone.
It’s been a fair old period of time since there was a feeling of gloom around Celtic Park. But a lack of first-team signings this summer and a dire cup exit to Kilmarnock last weekend have most of us feeling a little down.
Sure, we’ve encountered some losses in recent times, but the frustration after the Ayrshire disappointment is something a bit different.
After an incredible couple of seasons it’s a feeling that we could probably all do without. But all is not lost, and Celtic tend to react well to setbacks.
But just how well? We’ve taken a look at how the team responded in their next match after a defeat in both Brendan Rodgers‘ first spell and over the past two seasons.
Celtic lost 26 matches during Rodgers’ first stint at the club between May 2016 and February 2019. Our reaction was almost always very impressive.
In total, we reacted to 21 of those 26 defeats by winning our very next game, while three were drawn and two were lost.
The back-to-back defeat runs both occurred in the 2018/19 season. One saw us lose to Hearts and AEK Athens in the space of a few days, the other was Red Bull Salzburg followed by Hibernian.
The team have also been good at responding to setbacks over the past few seasons. Under Ange Postecoglou we tasted defeat 18 times.
12 of those were followed by wins, three draws and three losses.
The back-to-back losses all arrived early in the Aussie’s tenure. They were: Midtjylland followed by Hearts, AZ Alkmaar followed by Rangers, Real Betis followed by Livingston.
So recent history tells us that Celtic will respond well against the struggling Perth side. While winning is the most important thing, it does feels like everyone could do with a performance too.
In other news, Celtic fans will soon find out how much the club are charging for Champions League tickets
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