Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is hoping that Brendan Rodgers’ half-time rant during the St Johnstone match on Sunday has given the squad the jolt it needed to improve performances.
The Celtic boss admitted in post-match interviews on Sunday that he was angrier than he had ever been in his career at the interval in Perth, having watched his team put in a flat, sub-par first-half display.
To the team’s credit, the second-half performance was much improved and the reigning champions went on to win the match 3-1. But Celtic can’t consistently start games like they did against the Saints.
O’Riley is in full agreement with that assessment and, despite being taken aback by Rodgers’ reaction, felt it was a deserved row.
Matt O’Riley on Brendan Rodgers’ half-time message
The midfielder said [Daily Record, 06/12 print edition]: “That was his message after the game – ‘I hope I don’t have to get to that level of anger at half-time again’. The reaction showed the level we can play at and should be at regularly.
“Hopefully it’s a wake-up call. Did we expect it? Yeah. We were angry at ourselves because we knew we weren’t doing enough. There was a lack of intensity, which should be a given when you play for Celtic. There is a lot of quality in our team, but if it’s not matched with good intensity and mentality then we deserve to get shouted at.
Asked if he’d seen Rodgers like that before, O’Riley added: “No, Not yet anyway! He’s quite a calm guy in general. He doesn’t like to get angry unless he has to. Not to that extent. But I don’t think our intensity has been that low before, so it was warranted.
“He’s been around long enough to know when to go a bit harder or when to soften up. He’s the one who can probably see the game from a bigger perspective. He’s also been around in football for a long time so I’m sure he knows what to say and when to say it.”
It’s now on the players to show they can take real intensity into tonight’s game at home to Hibernian. Celtic fans will want to see a fiery performance from the first whistle to show the team is heading in the right direction.
This is a critical period of the season and with second-placed Rangers playing at the same time, there’s little room for error. There’s definitely no room for lack of effort.
In other news, Celtic leave Craig Levein needing a glass of wine as he delivers verdict on Bhoys.
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