Celtic have made a difficult start to the season as they are already five points behind league leaders, Hearts of Midlothian. They also missed the bus for the Champions League qualification for the first time under Brendan Rodgers, and the sense of aura and invincibility around them is undoubtedly diminishing at the moment. So much so that even the Hoops’ gaffer agreed to that fact and indicated that their slump could continue.
Rodgers said,”I don’t think we’re anywhere near the level of our game. We haven’t been as dynamic as we have been in the last couple of years. It might be a season for us like that. The win(Against Rosenborg) was probably down to spirit and persistence. I said last week at St Mirren, even with ten men, we were dominant. But it’s just that final third. It’s a mixture of confidence and not being dynamic enough at times. So that is allowing us not to be decisive enough in games. We are not conceding. That’s five games when we have not lost a goal. So you just have to be persistent and trust right to the very end that the goal will come.”
It is refreshing to hear the manager agree to the facts and not be guilty of living in a bubble. The start to the season has been a reality check of sorts for the Hoops, but the positive thing is that this has happened early in the season. Rodgers has time on his hand to solve the problems and resurrect the side back again to its best.
The manager also admitted that loss of players in the summer has given them a few new issues this season. The likes of Patrick Roberts and Moussa Dembele were important cogs in Rodgers’ setup for the last two seasons neither of them are with the club anymore.
The former Liverpool manager further added,”Right now it’s a bit of everything for us. We lost dynamic players. We have had lots of games. We just have to continue to work hard on the training field and win games when we are not at our best. The squad’s very honest, a brilliant bunch of boys to work with. We will always find a way and try to find a solution to perform well because performing, for me, is very, very important. We’re just missing something in the final third of the pitch.”
The good thing is that the team has looked solid at the back since Boyata’s comeback and all they need to do is find that killer touch and judgement in the final third, which is lacking at the moment. The players should know that this year is not going to be as easy as the last two seasons, so the manager would also need his players to step up. As of now, they can get the job done, and the Bhoys faithful would hope that the team can find consistency soon this season.
