9 in 3 – “That’s something to think about,” Brendan Rodgers

The Celtic Star

·17 March 2025

9 in 3 – “That’s something to think about,” Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media after Celtic’s 3-2 Glasgow Derby defeat to theRangers at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon…

Kasper Schmeichel picks the ball out of the net during the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Celtic v theRangers 16 March 2025. Photo O Rourke, Shutterstock

Q: Brendan, how did you view that game today?

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Brendan Rodgers: “We’re obviously disappointed with the result. Maybe a draw is a fair result. But, yeah, we give credit to theRangers, they win the game. We didn’t start, you know, inside the first five minutes. Our idea was to make a quick start. We conceded a poor goal. I think all three goals, in all fairness, are from positions that we should be in control of. I thought, first half, not so good. Second half, we get the early goal. Really good goal. From that, it looks like we’re the team in the ascendency and can go on and win the game, get to two each. It was a good feeling, and good energy in the stadium. I just hoped for us to go on and make the next steps to get the goal. I think Jack Butland made some great saves throughout the day. But if you can’t win it, don’t lose it. Unfortunately, we make a mistake towards the end of the game and the striker finishes it really well. So, really disappointing.”

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Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic holds off Cyriel Dessers of the Rangers as Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel catches the ball. Celtic v theRangers, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 16 March 2025 Photo: Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

Q: How surprised were you by, especially the first half performance, where you looked quite far off your normal standards?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I think we missed Callum McGregor today. I don’t think there was any doubt in that. I mentioned before the tactical balance he gives the team. He’s the guy that opens up everything for us. His movement, his quality, his touch, gets us through the pitch nice and quickly. So you could see it wasn’t anywhere near as fluid. That’s the reality. We have to step up with other players, because if he’s not playing, then we need to be better.”

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Vaclav Cerny of theRangers & Adam Idah of Celtic. Celtic v theRangers, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 16 March 2025 Photo Stuart WallaceShutterstock

Q: Brendan, you made a point there that all three goals, you’re in control of the situation. There are guys there who think we’d be able to handle those situations. What kind of happens to make so many mistakes all come together like that?

Brendan Rodgers: “Just clarity of thinking. It’s, like you said, the corner we’re in a good position. And Nico Raskin, he’s done it a few times. He’s quick across the ground, gets the contact, but we’re goal side and we have to deal with that better. The second one, again, the ball goes back. And then we’ve got to open up the pitch quicker. We end up, it goes out for a throw-in for them. So we’re in control of that. And then, the third one, it was punted up the pitch, we missed the first header, slipped. And then, in fairness, the guy finishes it really well. But we can deal with those things much better. So, yeah, it’s just one of those days that you have sometimes.”

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Hamza Igamane of theRangers scores his team’s third goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: That’s three goals conceded in each of the three previous derby matches, is that a worrying pattern for you in this fixture?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, that’s something to think about for sure. I mentioned that afterwards. You need to be better. You need to be defensively much better, much more secure. I think also part of that comes from the ball. If you give the ball away and you’re not dominating it like we do, you hand a little bit of onus in the opposition. But ultimately, all three goals today were disappointing goals.”

Maik Nawrocki moves in as Cyriel Dessers battles for the ball with Cameron Carter-Vickers during the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Celtic v theRangers, 16 March 2025. Photo O Rourke/Shutterstock

Q: Brendan, it’s a difficult game for Maik Nawrocki to come into, given his lack of game time. How do you feel he coped and performed?

Brendan Rodgers: “I thought he done really well. I said that to him afterwards in the changing room. There weren’t too many highlights for us. But certainly for him, for a guy that’s not played virtually for a year, it shows you how well he’s trained and how professional he’s been. So I thought he done really, really well to last the game.”

Q: Does the gap have an effect on the intensity and your sharpness on the ball?

Brendan Rodgers: “It can’t do. It can’t do. There’s no excuse. If it’s one point gap or 16 or whatever it is, there’s no excuse. There’s no excuse. We didn’t defend well enough. We weren’t sharp enough. A good team can punish you. We had a much better second half. It looked like the flow of the game, we got the goal. It feels like a matter of time. But like I say, you shouldn’t then lose the game from that position.”

Arnie Engels of Celtic and Ianis Hagi of theRangers during the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Celtic v theRangers, 16 Mar 2025 O Rourke/ Shutterstock

Q: I don’t know if it’s serious, but after the winning goal, were you aware of what was going on down the other end of the track from you? There were a couple of theRangers players that seemed to skoosh water towards the Celtic fans?

Brendan Rodgers: “I didn’t see it. I think I went to the screen just to have a look at the goal.”

Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books. Photo: The Celtic Star.

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