Celtic’s hard-fought win over Motherwell on Sunday keeps the pressure on Rangers at the top of the SPFL this weekend.
But it could have been a very different story had Brendan Rodgers not made the changes he did in the second half which, let’s be fair, inspired the fightback.
Introducing Adam Idah was an inspired piece of coaching and it really paid off for the Celtic manager after he bagged a crucial double.
The introduction of Luis Palma was also crucial as the Honduran also got himself on the scoresheet but it was when Tomoki Iwata got taken off in the 77th minute that really seemed to irk the Celtic fans. And boy, didn’t they let Rodgers know it.
Brendan Rodgers addresses the Celtic fan boos
The Celtic manager seemed extremely confused when he spoke about that reaction from the fans. When asked how important using his whole squad will be for the title run-in, Rodgers took this opportunity to have his say on the booing Celtic supporters.
Rodgers said [Celtic YouTube], “It’s very important [using the squad] especially when you get booed for taking off a defender and putting on an attacker. That seems strange.
“For me, it doesn’t really matter to me. It’s more for the player coming on and for the team. I think that it’s a negative reaction which I don’t quite understand.
“You’re one each in the game, you take off a defensive midfield player on an attacking player. An attacking player who has scored goals this season and you get booed.
“It just seems a little strange, but thankfully, the player’s mentality on the pitch was superb they kept going and kept fighting and all the great work that they did, especially in the second half in terms of tiring the opponent out, that led to the couple of goals at the end.”
I said yesterday I could understand the Celtic fans’ reaction. I also said I understood why Rodgers took Iwata off.
Considering he was not match-fit, the Celtic manager obviously thought he was tiring and took the opportunity to bring on another attacking player to win the game.
And, again, to be fair to Rodgers, it paid off. The player who replaced Iwata, Paulo Bernardo, didn’t really contribute that much. In fact, he only had nine touches but did fashion one chance. [Fotmob]
But as we all know, it’s a team game and the end result was down to the fact that Rodgers used his whole squad. And if he needs to do it again tonight, then the Celtic fans will need to trust the process.
In other news, Celtic may be able to make their ideal midfield signing for just £2m this summer
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