Brendan Rodgers has spoken to the media after his Celtic side blasted past Ross County today to open up a five-point lead in the Scottish Premiership standings.
Liam Scales kickstarted the party ten minutes in following Luke McCowan’s delivery before the Irishman turned provider for his teammate, hoisting a lovely through ball over the top for the former Dundee captain to expertly capitalise on.
Paulo Bernardo capped another astute performance from a personal standpoint with a close-range finish. Callum McGregor and Adam Idah put in late entries for goal of the month before the whistle sounded for the interval.
Overall, Celtic’s thrashing of Ross County has left the Bhoys in a comfortable position as Aberdeen travel to face Hearts at Tynecastle tomorrow.
Now, Brendan Rodgers has shared his thoughts on another brilliant afternoon for his side, who remain unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership.
Brendan Rodgers on ‘complete’ Celtic display vs Ross County
Speaking live on Sportsound, Rodgers lauded Celtic’s ‘complete’ performance against Ross County and expanded on the energy his changes brought to the starting line-up.
He stated: “I thought it was a complete performance. I said we didn’t want to wait on the game and I thought we were outstanding on that front.
“Really pleasing in the team, the hunger to get that ball through. Our goals in the first-half come from a transitional game where we’re in possession and lose it, but we get the ball back very quickly and that creates the opportunities for us to score
“In the second half, in all fairness, we could’ve had the same, but you have to give credit to Ross County, how they defended, they defended really, really well and their keeper makes some great saves, we hit the crossbar twice, we hit the post. For a complete 90 minutes, that was so good on the back of a tough Champions League game in midweek. For the players to show their hunger, I was so proud of them.”
Brendan Rodgers welcomes Celtic selection dilemmas
Later on, the Irishman touched on whether some of his fringe stars have made a case to start more often on a day of synchronicity against Ross County.
The Irishman continued, stating: “I think all the guys who came in, if you want to call them starters, they are starters. Liam Scales can play in the team, Alex Valle can play in the team, the two eights can play in the team, the other guys.
It’s what we want, we need that competition and energy because we put so much into the games. The intensity that we play, the speed at which we play, we have to have fresh legs and we could see that today bringing those guys in.
“It doesn’t disrupt the rhythm of the team and it energised the team and all the guys that came in were absolutely fantastic in the game.”
Bodies fighting for spots is the dream every manager wants to fulfil. However, not everyone has that luxury, and it is clear that Rodgers appreciates his wealth of options.
Heading into the Bhoys’ clash with Aberdeen next Wednesday, you wouldn’t be surprised to see a few keep their places ahead of first-team regulars.
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