Andy Halliday calls on Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers to backtrack on ‘Honda Civic’ comments

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Brendan Rodgers is well-known for his media interactions.

The Hoops boss doesn’t mince his words. His condemnation of the ‘cowardly action’ of a Celtic insider who briefed against him was one of many in a long line of strong quotes.

So when Rodgers said he had been given the keys to a ‘Honda Civic’ after the side’s defeat to Dundee, the intention behind his message was clear.

But what will the Celtic squad be thinking? The comments were clearly indicative of Rodgers seeing his squad as substandard after the recent transfer window.

For Andy Halliday, who was on the bench for Motherwell’s late defeat at Celtic Park earlier this month, there are serious questions over his comments.

Andy Halliday on Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic comments

Celtic lost the game 2-0 at Dens Park. Despite the Hoops creating chances, the scoreline could have been worse. Dundee had a lot of joy.

Conceding that amount of chances – despite dominating the ball – has not been typical for Celtic of late. This was a deeply worrying performance.

READ MORE: Celtic fan Barry Bannan reacts to ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl’s move to Rangers

Rodgers’ words were pointed, but Halliday fears that some players may not respond well to them – and called on him to backtrack on his words.

Speaking on Clyde Superscoreboard, Halliday said: “You can only put yourself in the dressing room after the manager’s said such comments.

You think of the amount of players in that Celtic dressing room that have won a whole lot for the football club, and a whole lot for Brendan Rodgers.

“To be described in such a totality of a comment, I just found it completely bizarre. To come after playing Dundee, in the Scottish Premier League…

“If he’d said it after Braga, I still think it would be a bizarre statement, and one I don’t think would go down well with players.

“But coming after a game against Dundee, who you absolutely trounce in terms of your resources and the quality of players you’ve got and the structure of the football club, I just found incredible.

“It will be interesting to see Brendan Rodgers’ press conference – he has to realise what he said was wrong.”

Will Celtic give Brendan Rodgers what he wants in January?

Rodgers has said that he is open to staying at Celtic under the right conditions – January will be a vital part of those conditions being met.

Having lost Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi, Rodgers’ squad has lost a lot of goals. His new signings have all shown glimpses, but he needs more than what he has.

Daizen Maeda has also revealed his desire to leave Celtic. Will his departure be facilitated, or is he too important to Rodgers’ squad?

The transfer window may be shut, but January feels like another potential whirlwind window, with all eyes on Celtic’s board. Can Rodgers prove Halliday wrong and get the best out of his squad before then? You wouldn’t bet against it.