Brendan Rodgers delivers ideal answer to Celtic and Rangers gap question

Add as preferred source on Google

Brendan Rodgers isn’t going to fall into the trap of comparing his Celtic side to Rangers at this stage of the season.

Celtic are five points clear of the Ibrox side after the first round of fixtures but have the chance to move eight clear this weekend.

Philippe Clement’s team are not in Scottish Premiership action due to participation in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup, giving the Bhoys an excellent chance to move further ahead.

Asked about the prospect of doing that and how crucial it was in a media conference on Friday, Rodgers was clear – that’s not talk for now.

Rodgers will compare Celtic and Rangers in May

He said [Celtic FC]: “Well, we’ll see at the end of the season. I think for us it’s just about focusing on the game. It can be another game ticked off for us.

“We’ve started very well in the first round of games with nine victories and two draws that we should win. The team are growing and developing as we go through.

“We can only look after ourselves really. We weren’t good enough in the Kilmarnock game, at that time, but it’s a different mentality and a different team now. We just have to use that throughout the remainder of the season.”

Knowing Rodgers and the winner he is, he probably finds it very small consolation that Celtic can increase the points gap this weekend knowing four other teams are fighting it out at Hampden.

The Celtic boss has a proud trophy-winning record in Scotland and the League Cup could have extended an unbelievable streak. It wasn’t to be.

As Rodgers notes, this side looks like a different animal than the one dumped out of that tournament in Ayrshire.

We want this Celtic group to be entirely focused on their own improvement. It’s no time to get complacent about how far ahead of Rangers the Bhoys are.

There’s still a lot of work to do for the team to get up to peak form. Wednesday night demonstrated how difficult it can be to win games in this division, even for Celtic.

In other news, Joe Hart’s response to Celtic contract extension question after recent reports.