Celtic made it eight wins from nine in all competitions yesterday after seeing off St Mirren to progress into the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda were on target for the Bhoys at the SMiSA Stadium, helping to set up a home tie in the last eight against Livingston.
Brendan Rodgers has never lost in the competition over his two spells in Scotland and hit out at the narrative that he and his players lack togetherness.
The Irishman stated in his post-match press conference: “Obviously, the narrative around our team is that we’re not together. But you can’t come and win fairly comfortably like that if you’re not. I thought the guys did really, really well. I was very pleased for them and proud of them.”
Following a small break from their title quest, Celtic will return to Scottish Premiership action against Kilmarnock at Parkhead this weekend, with the action commencing at 15:00.
In more positive news, Greg Taylor is likely to be available for selection as he nears a full return from a calf strain [Viaplay Sport].
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers discusses comparisons to last season
Any Celtic fan with a working knowledge of supporter sentiment will know that there have been comparisons surrounding this term’s side and last season’s treble winners, especially when things haven’t gone to plan.
Now, Rodgers looks to have addressed the differences between his side and Ange Postecoglou’s outfit and has explained why he doesn’t think that he has similar options to choose from as the Aussie manager did.
The Irishman stated [Cited via The Celtic Way]: “If you do any sort of analysis and know anything about football then you will see we are getting compared to the squad last season.
“Now, if you do your work, you will see it is not the same squad as last season. Lots of those players who were starters have not been playing for long periods of this season.
“It hasn’t stopped the focus being on negativity. I look at it differently. I look logically at it. We have missed some very important players for long periods, and we made some changes in the summer, and players left.”
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side have endured injury struggles
Despite the fact Celtic have changed their style of play since last campaign, Rodgers has been hard done by in the injury department, which has made it hard for the Irishman to field a full-strength side at times.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnston are three notable current absences; meanwhile, Israeli winger Liel Abada was absent yesterday due to not being in the right frame of mind [Daily Record].
Rodgers has had to adapt his team selection at various points over the course of 2023/24 and will hope some of his key men can return to full fitness shortly.
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