What Simo Valakari told his shellshocked St Johnstone team at half-time in Hampden dressing room vs Celtic

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Many people would have felt for the St Johnstone players after Celtic dismantled them in 11 Scottish Cup minutes at the weekend.

Brendan Rodgers watched his Celtic players knock at St Johnstone’s door for 34 minutes in the semi-final and when Callum McGregor eventually opened the scoring, the floodgates opened inside Hampden.

After that, Celtic hero Daizen Maeda grabbed a double and Adam Idah scored just before half-time to end an 11-minute rout that left Simo Valakari’s St Johnstone side shellshocked.

So how did the Perth boss react? St Johnstone’s Mackenzie Kirk shares the message Valakari sent his players after being battered by Celtic.

• READ MORE: The warning Gary Lineker gave Leicester City fans about Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has just come home to roost

The ‘only option’ Simo Valakari gave his St Johnstone players after first-half Celtic mauling

Valakari would have felt confident heading into the big game after beating Celtic in the Scottish Premiership two weeks ago.

However, Brendan Rodgers had other plans and got his team sheet bang on as Celtic asserted their dominance over the relegation-threatened SPFL side.

Kirk told The Courier, “It’s a big occasion and the boys did really well for the first half-hour.

“We maybe switch off and that’s what happens when you play Celtic, they can punish you in the blink of an eye.

“Suddenly it’s one, two then we’re going in at half-time 4-0 down.

“After that, you have to stay disciplined and try to do the best you can. The gaffer told us to play with pride, stay disciplined, be compact and play as a team. We had to go out and keep the score to a minimum.

“I felt we came out of the second half with something because we were more disciplined. The only option was to play with pride and keep them as low as we could.”

Brendan Rodgers’ best two wins as Celtic boss vs St Johnstone that better Scottish Cup scoreline

Brendan Rodgers has an excellent record as Celtic boss against St Johnstone. Prior to the 1-0 defeat in the league, the Parkhead gaffer was undefeated.

In 19 games, Rodgers has won 15, drawn three and lost just one but there are two prior wins against St Johnstone whose scoreline eclipses Celtic’ weekend Hampden win.

• Sep 28, 2024: Scottish Premiership – St. Johnstone 0 v 6 Celtic

• Oct 7, 2018: Scottish Premiership – St. Johnstone 0 v 6 Celtic

St Johnstone will be thanking their lucky stars that they will not face Celtic again this season as they try and save their Scottish Premiership status.