Celtic’s win against Sturm Graz was a much-needed breath of positivity.
Despite an abject start when Tomi Horvat opened the scoring with a stunning hit, second-half goals from Liam Scales and Benjamin Nygren secured a first Europa League win of the season for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Rodgers hit out at the ‘experts outside’ after the game, and called the team’s performance ‘outstanding’, despite controversy over his comments during this week.
He had compared his Celtic squad to a ‘Honda Civic’ after defeat to Dundee, and this had proved unpopular. He did not feel the need to apologise for it.
And ahead of a huge top-of-the-table clash against Hearts this weekend, one of his senior players has revealed his pre-match message from the Sturm Graz win.
James Forrest on Brendan Rodgers ahead of Celtic vs Sturm Graz
The Dundee defeat was a domestic low point for the Hoops this season – it was the first time in 37 years that Celtic lost at Dens Park.
As well as Rodgers himself, the Celtic squad was questioned. Key players such as Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney have faced criticism.
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Another one of his senior players, James Forrest, has seen it all at Celtic. He may be in the back end of his career, but his role in the dressing room is regularly credited.
And speaking to Sky Sports, Forrest revealed Rodgers’ message to the Hoops players before the win over the Austrian side.
Rodgers, speaking to the players he claims to spend ‘every hour’ thinking about, said: “That’s part of playing for a big club. It’s never always going to go smoothly.
“The manager said before the game last night that in difficult periods, that’s your chance to show as a player that you’ve got the character, that you’ve got the strength to come back in difficult moments.
“I think it was a great start last night. We were 1-0 down and the boys did show that. So just to take that into Sunday.
“I think if you look at the games this season – in the past, we were maybe one, two, three up in the first 30 minutes or at half-time.
“Sometimes, that’s football. Teams are defending well, they’re playing well against us. We just need to find a way to get in front.”
Rodgers in the media ahead of Hearts
This weekend’s clash with Hearts has understandably received plenty of coverage in the media, with the Jambos five points clear of Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Tony Bloom has been vocal about his ambitions for the Edinburgh side in the media, whilst their CEO has also been sounding confident.
Despite this, Rodgers has insisted that he has ‘enough to worry about’. If his team lose, he will have even more to worry about.
With an injury crisis emerging this week, it’s hard not to feel like it will be a defining game for Rodgers and Celtic.
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