“I’m not sure if the 14-point gap took the edge of it,” Brendan Rodgers

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·3 January 2025

“I’m not sure if the 14-point gap took the edge of it,” Brendan Rodgers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers gave a frank assessment on his side’s insipid display at Ibrox yesterday afternoon and suggested that the 14 point gap could have been a factor…

Celtic captain Callum McGregor and Danilo Pereira da Silva of Rangers during the Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox. theRangers v Celtic, photo O’Rourke/Shutterstock

The Irishman’s team were wasteful in possession, physically miles off it and offered up nothing going forward — it was a calamitous day all round for the three-in-a-row Scottish champions.

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A punishing reminder

Rodgers suffered only his second defeat against theRangers in 21 Glasgow Derby meetings across his two spells as Celtic manager. The Hoops remain 11 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, but it was a punishing reminder that they can’t rest on their laurels and there is still a long way to go in the season.

Nicolas Kuhn of Celtic battles for possession with Jefte of theRangers during the SPL Premier League match between at Ibrox on January 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

It is now only the third time in the last 31 years Celtic have lost their first league game of the calendar year. The previous two came at Ibrox in 1997 and 2021.

Disappointed with both the performance and result

Speaking post-match, Brendan Rodgers did not mince his words about Celtic’s dreadful performance and result.

“Very disappointed with both the performance and result. The best team won. They had an edge in the game that we never had. We made too many mistakes. I said before the game it wouldn’t matter if we were 50 points clear – Celtic vs Rangers is everything. But we never played with that edge and that personality,” he said.

Greg Taylor of Celtic and Mohamed Diomande of theRangers during the Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox Stadium, 2 January 2025. PhotoO’ Rourke//Shutterstock

“This is a little reminder of what it takes to win a game. We didn’t control the midfield. Too many slack passes…we gave the ball away too easily. It’s one of the games you have to look at. It’s not nice but we have to analysis it and do better.”

Too many mistakes

“It wasn’t a very good performance. We made too many mistakes, especially in the first half on the ball. That invited pressure. We trapped ourselves in too many areas.”

“From that, 1-0, it gives the stadium a lift. Rangers were the better team today. It was very unlike us. We were not aggressive enough without the ball. Too many duels lost and moments where they could then break out of pressure. On the ball, it was far too slow.”

Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic reacts during the SPL Premier League match between Rangers FC and Celtic FC at Ibrox Stadium on January 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“The game is a disappointment. I’m not sure if the 14-point gap took the edge off, it shouldn’t, but maybe subconsciously it can do. We did not play well, and Rangers deserved to win.”

“It was one of those days. They are not robots. The energy in the stadium, they wanted to prove a point, they hadn’t beaten us, and they are so far behind in the league, so there are many reasons why.”

Here’s Brendan’s post-match media conference from Ibrox, apologies for the source.

Conor Spence

PS – Daily Record seems to be very excited about the result yesterday…