Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner thinks Brendan Rodgers will ‘use’ yesterday afternoon’s Glasgow derby defeat to send a message to his players going forward.

The Hoops were battered in every department at Ibrox in what was a sorry excuse for a performance.

Celtic Players
Soccer Football – Scottish Premiership – Rangers v Celtic – Ibrox, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – January 2, 2025 Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring their first goal later disallowed after a VAR review REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

The players didn’t look up for it at all and were rightly punished for a sub-par display.

Ianis Hagi opened the scoring early doors before Robin Propper doubled the hosts’ advantage just after the hour mark. Substitute Danilo added some gloss to the scoreline late on with his second goal in as many Glasgow derbies.

It was only Brendan Rodgers’ second defeat in 21 games against Rangers.

He knows losing to the Ibrox club is unacceptable, and Bonner thinks he will utilise it to ensure his side improve going forward: “He won’t panic,” said the Irishman (BBC Scottish Football Podcast). 

He’ll probably use it as maybe something that he can actually get a message into those players’ heads.

“You can pass the ball, it looks great, fantastic, but the other part of the game, the hard work, the winning the battles in the middle of the pitch, being sharp to the ball.

“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve witnessed such a poor performance from Celtic.”

Celtic will lick their wounds and look to bounce back from Thursday’s defeat when St. Mirren visit Parkhead this Sunday.

Dundee United then lay in wait the following Wednesday as Rodgers and Co. look to rediscover their mojo.

A sharp recovery is needed from yesterday, and the champions have no time to feel sorry for themselves.

They must accept they weren’t good enough, learn from their mistakes, and win against the Buddies.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.