‘Bitterly disappointed’ Brendan Rodgers refuses to use Rangers pressure as Celtic excuse – ‘it’s nothing to do with us’
After a late Kilmarnock goal, the champions gave the title initiative to their Ibrox rivals.
Brendan Rodgers, the manager of Celtic, urged his team to change their mindset after Kilmarnock’s late equalizer gave Rangers the advantage in the Premiership title contest.
As the clock approached ninety minutes, Rodgers believed they had gotten away with a terrible effort because Celtic lead thanks to a header from Kyogo Furuhashi in the 32nd minute.
However, Killie had produced multiple opportunities and gave Celtic difficulties with their pressing, and in stoppage time, David Watson scored when substitute Alexandro Bernabei misjudged Fraser Murray’s cross. Celtic struggled to generate chances in the last 30 minutes as they attempted to get a second goal either side of the interval, with Matt O’Riley being denied multiple times.
“We lacked authority on the ball, composure, and all the things you need to do to control the game,” Aaron Rodgers stated. We didn’t produce nearly as much as we would have liked to in the second half, and we appeared uneasy when we had the ball.
Over the season, it has occurred far too frequently. We have had periods of good play, but you have to be able to handle the pressure when we haven’t taken our chances and a little bit of fear seeps in. We didn’t handle the strain of taking the ball and handling it well enough, despite my frequent visits and managerial experiences here. It is quite disheartening.
After his team had already suffered two losses against Killie this season, Rodgers continued, “It is now more about mindset than skill or technique. It’s about playing with that desire and poise, about not letting that man pass you by. We witnessed that in the second half; despite not being under a lot of pressure, we continued to put ourselves through hardships.
Eight games into the much anticipated Premiership season, Rangers trailed by seven points at the time Philippe Clement took control. However, a victory over St Johnstone in Perth on Sunday would put the Light Blues two ahead. Rodgers denied rumors that the title race pressure was a factor.
“It has nothing to do with us, regardless of how Rangers perform or play,” he said. It was our trepidation and dropping of the ball. That only has anything to do with us and nobody else. The actions of other people don’t matter.
The season’s high point will ultimately arrive, therefore it can’t last forever. These days, the mental trick is everything. This is entirely mental at the moment because you’re in good physical and technical health.
Derek McInnes, the manager of Killie, thought his team deserved a point. “Coming here and defending for ninety-odd minutes and then nicking an equalizer didn’t feel like a smash and grab,” he remarked. It was nothing like that. We occasionally had to struggle with possession in the first half.
We gave the Celtic players who we desired more ball touches than some of the other guys. I felt we did a good job stopping their four wide players. We carefully selected the right times to pursue them and were rewarded.
Marley Watkins claimed Stephen Welsh had taken him down from behind, but McInnes dismissed the argument. The incident occurred in the first half. According to McInnes, Marley is sure that it was a penalty. “I have witnessed it.”
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