Pat Bonner doesn’t hold back at Celtic for ‘allowing Rangers to give them an absolute trouncing’

Add as preferred source on Google

Pat Bonner was vociferous in his criticism of Celtic after they suffered a heavy defeat to Rangers in the Glasgow Derby.

The Celtic hero was on commentary duty for the BBC as he gave his honest verdict on Brendan Rodgers’ team’s display.

The Celtic boss picked his strongest starting XI and had the fans buzzing as he signalled an intent to got to Rangers and win the game.

But Celtic put in a lacklustre performance at Ibrox and it was a 90-minutes that left Bonner incensed as he delivered his verdict

Brendan Rodgers will use Rangers defeat to send a message to Celtic’s players

Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland, “Yeah, listen, they won’t panic. He’ll probably use it as maybe something that he could actually get a message into those players’ heads, that you can pass the ball, that looks great, fantastic.

“But the other part of the game, the hard work won in the battles in the middle of the pitch, being sharp to the ball, all the things that we that they didn’t do today and allow Rangers to give them an absolute trouncing in the day.”

Celtic’s midfield was virtually non-existent and at one point Callum McGregor vented his frustration at Reo Hatate as the Japanese midfielder looked miles off what he can normally provide in these big games.

Pat Bonner launches furious criticism of ‘awful’ Celtic vs Rangers

Bonner didn’t stop there though. The former Celtic goalkeeper said the performance at Ibrox was one of the worst he has ever seen in a long time from his old club.

“It was only a couple of minutes in the first half and a couple of minutes in the second half Celtic looked as if they could maybe get something out of the game,” continued Bonner.

“Apart from that, nothing. And I must admit, absolutely nothing’s been a long, long time since I’ve witnessed such a poor display from Celtic.

“Technically, their passing was awful. They couldn’t go up through the thirds of the pitch, they didn’t create anything, and then, of course, they gave up the goal. So very, very poor from Celtic today, I’ve got to say.”

Brendan Rodgers delivered some home truths to his Celtic players after the defeat and admitted that Rangers were the better team on the day.

With just three games to go until Celtic’s next fixture, the Hoops boss will be hoping his message got through loud and clear with Steven Robinson’s St Mirren up next.

The bigger picture? Celtic are still 11 points clear at the top of the table and are unlikely to turn in another performance like the one they did this afternoon.

Still on course for a treble, there will be no panic at Celtic Park after just one defeat in 19 Scottish Premiership games.