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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Brendan Rodgers issues apology to seething Celtic supporters after Hearts loss

Brendan Rodgers tonight issued an apology to furious Celtic supporters after the2-0 loss to Hearts.

The Parkhead boss admitted his side were far below par in the Scottish Premiership defeat but revealed he wasn't overly surprised as standards slipped.

Supporters made their feelings clear with the team booed off the park after the defeat and chants of 'sack the board' and 'Lawwell get to f***' heard inside the stadium.

Rodgers said on BBC Sportsound: "Firstly, it's an apology to the support base. I don't think I've ever had to do that in all my time here, the first time or this time.

"Certainly, the performance today was nowhere near the level of what is expected as a Celtic player and a Celtic team.

"We lacked any desire in our defending, we lacked that drive when we had the ball and that intensity.

"And like I said, it felt like we could have played all night and not scored."

Quizzed on how shocked he was by the drop in standards after previously dishing out warnings over consistency to his squad, Rodgers replied: "Not, if I'm honest because it is about consistency and mentality and I've seen it within the team from time to time.

"I'm surprised at home we produced that level of performance but not so when I saw the first half at St Johnstone and Kilmarnock away and today."

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