Brendan Rodgers savoured his latest slaying of a Rangers boss as Philippe Clement became his FIFTH Old Firm victim.
The Celtic gaffer racked up his 12th win in 15 Glasgow derbies with a 2-1 victory over their biggest rivals at Parkhead. Clement’s side went into yesterday’s game in terrific form having gone 16 games unbeaten since the Belgian’s arrival at Ibrox. But Rodgers says whenever there is talk of a stronger challenge from across the city – his team regularly produce the goods. He’s now beaten five permanent Rangers managers over his two spells in charge – Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha, Steven Gerrard, Michael Beale and Clement.
He also got the better of temporary boss Graeme Murty during his previous spell at the Hoops. And after his side moved eight points clear at the top of the Premiership table, Rodgers said: “Over my two spells here I’ve worked against five Rangers managers. Every time, Rangers were coming. Every time, at some point. So for me this is normal. If I listened to the media, then we would be in constant crisis mode and constant fear of Rangers.
“But it’s their fifth manager now. So for me, my focus is only ever on Celtic and concentrating very much on here. A lot of the stuff that maybe goes on around it, thankfully I ignore.
“We showed today that with a team still missing key players – and players who will make the difference for us – that we are competitive and can play good football. That’s what we will continue to do.
“There is no doubt Philippe has improved Rangers. He has come in, used his experience and common sense to set the team up well.
“They are competitive and they play as a team. So we knew it was going to be a challenge for us. But we had to be super brave. We had to take on the challenge and that is what I have always done when I’ve been here.”
Goals from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi secured the points for Rodgers’ men against a Rangers team reduced to 10 men after Leon Balogun’s second half red card. James Tavernier pulled a goal back for the visitors late on but Rodgers felt his team were worthy of their win.
And he expects them to be even better after the winter break when they get injured players back and strengthen in the January transfer window. He said: “We will be stronger. Reo Hatate is back involved, Liel Abada coming back makes a difference for us as he is a goalscorer.
“Other players will come back like Cameron Carter-Vickers who will be ready after the break. And hopefully we can add to the squad. I would expect us to be better in the second part of the season
“As you’d expect, the game today was very tense and the atmosphere was amazing. I felt we deserved to win. Particularly after the second goal, we were very good in the game without too many scares.
“The only downside was when we played 11 v 10. Normally my teams would be a bit more controlled. But maybe with young players they get a wee bit hyped with the game and that’s something we need to improve on. But over the course the effort from the players was excellent and they were ably supported by the fans.”
Rodgers singled out Celtic skipper Callum McGregor for praise as he produced a man-of-the-match display in the middle of the park. He believes the Scotland star could shine in any company and admits he’s lucky to have him still at the club a second time around.
Rodgers said: “What an amazing player. Wow. You can be so proud of that kid. I have seen two versions of him now. When I was first here I saw him grow and develop into a really important player for me.
“I would have taken anywhere when I left here, he was so good. To be able to come back and have him as my captain I’m very lucky. … He is just an absolutely brilliant player, on a different level – with the greatest of respect – to everyone else on the pitch today.
“His view of the game, his quality, when to slow the game, when to pick up the tempo. I am so happy for him because it’s important as the Celtic captain in these games to perform and he has done that now in the two games we’ve had against Rangers this season.
“People now recognise Callum’s level. He is very much appreciated by the supporters, certainly by his team-mates and obviously by me as a manager. It’s amazing to have him.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
