In tough times, the last thing a manager needs in his dressing room is a bad apple. Or even worse, to use Brendan Rodgers’ terminology, an ‘idiot’.
Thankfully for the Celtic manager, while a fair few on the fringes of his squad may not have a long-term future at the club, they were all united behind his message during their mid-December mini slump, and their work since has re-established the champions as the clear leaders in the Premiership.
Rodgers has managed to rekindle the hunger that was absent from the Celtic displays against Kilmarnock and Hearts that ended in defeat, and threatened to see them usurped at the top of the table by a then resurgent Rangers under Philippe Clement.
But having reasserted what is expected of his players, and reaffirmed the principles he expects to see in any of his teams, Rodgers and Celtic have since reaped the rewards of their improved level of play.
“I just think it’s being really clear what the demands are,” Rodgers said.
“It was a different point when I first came in, and naturally there can be a little dip with players, but I think a big part of it for us were the injuries to a lot of players, those dynamic players that make the football look different.
“But either way, we needed to be better. It’s just a case of keeping patience, and I think that is where your experience comes in.
“I love working with this group because they are such an honest group of players. There is not an idiot amongst them.
“They know that they weren’t quite at the level, especially against Hearts, but I looked at that and it was a bit more fatigue on the back end of a Champions League game and because a lot of players were having to play continuously.
“But you have to perform, and that is what it takes to be a Celtic player. You need that mentality to win, and to win in a way that will make the supporters happy.
“So, they have done that. Against Livingston, suffocated the game really well. Dundee, our best performance against a back five. Rangers, a big game, and a big game mentality.
“Then coming [to St Mirren], everyone would probably have looked at St Mirren as a tricky game, but actually the quality of our football and the hunger in the team was there.
“So, it’s heading more towards where I want it to be.”
Rodgers says that the hunger that has underpinned those four wins heading into the break is vital to maintain for the rest of the season if they are to hold off the challenge from across the city.
“Aye, it is,” he said.
“I think in any league, in any team, you have to have that. Because if you drop off anything then there’s obviously someone ready to overtake that.
“But I think the players are understanding that now. The longer we work together, the longer they’re adjusting and adapting and feeling comfort in how we want them to work.”
While the win over Rangers may have been the one that proved to the fans that this Celtic team are up for the title fight, and are able to handle the big occasion, it was the win over St Mirren that backed it up that had Rodgers convinced his men had the minerals and the right mentality to play for the club.
They answered any doubts about their motivation in less than a minute as Daizen Maeda fired them ahead, and they kept pressing the Saints all the way to the end despite the game being long won. If not for St Mirren keeper Zach Hemming, they would have scored far more than the three goals they did manage.
It was a hugely encouraging performance for Rodgers, with his players showing that they could not only resist a sense of flatness following the high of the previous match, but that they are now just as motivated for a midweek away game in Paisley as they are for a home Old Firm fixture in front of 60,000 Celtic fans.
“There is the aspect that you’re always having to drill home, because [the win over Rangers] would have counted for nothing if we hadn’t got the performance and result against St Mirren,” he said.
“You’ve then got to do it. I said to the players that they beat Livingston then three days later had a great performance against Dundee, you’ve now beaten Rangers and three days later we need the same mentality, the same hunger, and we did.
“From what I see in the team and what I want to bring in, there’s still a way for us to go, but it’s starting to look more like how I want it to look.”
