Brendan Rodgers doesn’t often get it wrong at Celtic Park.
The Celtic manager was left with his head in his hands after Celtic’s 3-2 loss to Rangers last weekend, especially after the miserable first-half which saw the Light Blues race into a 2-0 lead.
It was an uncharacteristic performance from the hosts at home and “angry man” Rodgers rocketed his squad at the break and saw them pull the match back to 2-2 and being the more likely to win – only to be sucker-punched again by a late Hamza Igamane winner.
It was the second Glasgow derby defeat in a row with nine goals conceded in just three matches against Gers and by Rodgers‘ standards in particular, was unacceptable.
The result means the Irishman has some decisions to make when his players come back from the international break but it won’t just be short-term calls with the summer transfer window still to come.
67 Hail Hail takes a look at some of the key decisions Rodgers must make in the aftermath of the derby loss to ensure complacency doesn’t creep in with a Scottish Cup trophy still on the agenda.
The Greg Taylor conundrum
Taylor has transfer interest this summer and the left-back has not been at his absolute peak this season for one reason or another. Jeffrey Schlupp, meanwhile, has impressed since arriving on loan from Crystal Palace and has featured more often in recent weeks.
It means Rodgers must make the decision whether or not to put all his chips on Taylor signing a new contract and giving him that respect of playing him every week over the loan player who may well sign a permanent deal at the end of the season.
| Greg Taylor | Jeff Schlupp |
| Matches: 35 | Matches: 10 |
| Goals: 1 | Goals: 1 |
| Assists: 7 | Assists: 1 |
If Trusty’s out, what happens
Auston Trusty missed Celtic’s Rangers clash but was also forced to pull out of the USMNT for CONCACAF fixtures with an injury issue.
It’s not yet clear as to just how serious the centre-half’s problems are but to miss the derby must’ve been pretty significant. Liam Scales, meanwhile, is already out of action so it means persisting with Maik Nawrocki.
The Pole was fine against the Light Blues despite a lack of minutes but Rodgers has been accused of mistreating Nawrocki this term. He will need him moving forward if injuries persist.
How to get Kuhn firing for Celtic
John Hartson says Nicolas Kuhn has been “over-trying” for the Hoops in the past number of weeks which has coincided with the German’s dip in form.
Rodgers has to use every ounce of his man management skills to get the playmaker back on track with the Treble still the desired ambition. Celts need their star to find his form again.
Maeda or Idah up front
Daizen Maeda is Celtic’s player of the year standout and that’s because of his stunning 28 goals and nine assists from 42 outings.
He is Mr Versatile and has ousted Adam Idah from his role through the middle that the Irishman might’ve taken for granted after Kyogo left for Rennes.
Rodgers will have to make the decision whether or not to continue moving Daizen around and sidelining Idah or – if the latter point regarding Kuhn can’t be fixed – whether to switch Jota out to the right, Daizen to his traditional left-hand side to give Idah a chance.
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