Brendan Rodgers has been giving his reaction to Saturday’s 3-0 Celtic win over St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
The Bhoys have moved four points clear at the top of the table – having played two games more than second-placed side Rangers.
Reo Hatate got the scoring underway with a glorious top-corner finish before Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah netted headers to make it a comfortable victory, despite a lacklustre first half.
St Mirren had defended resolutely in that opening period but the quality of Celtic shone through in the end. This team are clearly keen to defend their champion status.
Rodgers spoke to BBC Radio Scotland in the aftermath and gave a bit of insight into what messages he delivered to his players at half-time to inspire improvement in the second 45 minutes.
Brendan Rodgers on Celtic’s win over St Mirren
The Bhoys boss said: “It was nothing overboard. I felt in the first half we were a little bit passive in our pressing and counter-pressing. When you’re like that then, with the ball, it’s not quite so aggressive.
“We arrived into the final third on numerous occasions and didn’t keep it well enough to combine and sustain the attack. Or we arrived or tried to get in too early.
“It was just a case of highlighting the patience of the game and maintaining the speed of the game. Once we got the goal early in the second half, the combinations were there. It’s a great finish by Reo.
“These types of games, when the team are sat in, compact, tight and very well organised, then the first goal is absolutely critical. We got that early in the half and the players were then outstanding for the remainder.
“It’s a huge credit to the players. You saw an injection of speed and tempo. Everything started to connect much cleaner and better.”
Celtic now take a break from league action to take part in a Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden next weekend.
Things are set up very nicely for the Bhoys to go on and make this a very successful season. If the players continue to perform like they did in the second half, rather than the first, then they’ll be difficult to stop.