“I understand the consequences,” Brendan Rodgers tells The Celtic Star

Conor Spence went along to Celtic Park this afternoon to represent The Celtic Star at the pre-match media conferences with Celtic defender Liam Scales and the Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. Here’s everything that was said and we’ve flagged up the two Celtic Star questions that Conor asked…

Q: Brendan, can we start with some team news? Is Daizen Maeda back and fit for tomorrow?

Brendan Rodgers: “Daizen’s not available, no. Alistair Johnston should be okay, hopefully all being well, so that’s great news for us.”

Q: Just going back to last weekend’s game against Dundee, I know you said that the fan protests weren’t the reason that you lost that game, but Liam Scales has been in here and described it as a slight distraction. Is there a worry that if this continues, the longer it goes on, that it can affect the guys on the pitch?

Brendan Rodgers: “I’m sure there are studies throughout the world in terms of the impact, of whether it’s positive or negative, what this type of thing has on a team and a club. But all you can really do as the players and the coach and manager, of course, you’re going out fired up to start the game well and get going, and, of course, there’s the disruption, but you have to deal with it. And that’s something that, like I say, we have to be mindful of now.”

Q: There’s also been a lot made of your comments after the game about Honda Civics and Ferraris. Can you just clarify what you meant by all of that, and can you understand why some may view that as a criticism of your players?

Brendan Rodgers: “I don’t know because I haven’t seen or read or heard anything, but it was based around the speed in our team. Clearly, it’s not the same as what we had last season, and I’m pretty sure both of those cars have got a different speed, so that was the reference to that.”

Q: Brendan, do you understand the interpretation of the comment? Because I think the focus has switched to what impact that might have on the players that are here right now.

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I’m not really worried, to be honest. You can’t please everyone, and I’m not going to start trying to do that now. The players know that I’m with them, I’ve always been with them, and our focus is now on performing and performing to our best level.”

Continues on the next page…