“I’ve been here enough times to know,” Brendan Rodgers

It was a very happy Celtic manager who made his way into the media room at Tynecastle yesterday afternoon after the Scottish Champions and league leaders picked up another three points on the road with a comfortable 4-1 over Hearts, who were playing in front of their lowest crowd of the season.

Their supporters clearly had little faith in their own team’s ability to beat Celtic and voted with their feet to presumably watch the match on television from the comfort of behind their own sofas. And while Hearts fans were staying away, their club were left with egg on their faces for denying Celtic 50% of the usual away allocation, and rather embarrassingly stating that the reason for doing so was to satisfy the demand from their own support for tickets for the match.

It was a bad day all round for Hearts and those home supporters who stayed behind the hour mark at least showed more spirit that their team but they also know that they were lucky to get away with just a 4-1 scoreline.

“We were very, very good. I think it was important that we started the game well and we tried to bring energy and speed to the game at the beginning that would make it difficult for Hearts,” Brendan Rodgers said. “I’ve been here enough times to know that if you don’t make a good start here, it can be a challenge. But the players played some wonderful football and worked ever so hard in the game. We’re really pleased overall.

“It’s constant evolution, there’s not a destination to where we want to go. It’s just continual improvement and finding levels. I think the big thing is consistency. It’s obviously a very difficult ground to come to but I love challenges like this, coming to really hostile environments, because it’s an opportunity for you to show your value and worth as a team, dealing with circumstances,” the Celtic manager added.

“I think the players dealt with it ever so well. My only criticism is that we could have had more goals. Their keeper has made some great saves and just when we got to 4-1, I thought we could have managed the ball better, so you are not having to run so much.

“You want to have a rest, rest with the ball as opposed to defend. That was my only criticism. Overall, after an international break when a lot of these guys are a wee bit heavy-legged towards the end, a lot of travel, what they gave the game was absolutely brilliant,” Brendan said.

That first goal in the opening few minutes was a combination of a beautiful pass from Luis Palma and a world class finish from man of the match Matt O’Riley who is in the form of his life at the moment playing for Brendan Rodgers.

“Luis Palma has that quality, watching him in his first few games he comes a wee bit shorter, he’s not one that will always run in behind. He’s a footballer and his pass for Matt O’Riley’s goal was excellent,” Rodgers noted.

“We talk about penetration a lot, so Matt’s was a great run and he’s received the pass very well and finished it superbly. Likewise, with the second goal, there were really good runs forward, testing the mentality of your marker. Cross and then the other winger scoring.

“We were unfortunate with the penalty, it was a good move from a kick-off, getting in from behind. We’ll need to practice them more,” the manager said, referring to Reo Hatate hitting the post from 12 yards. He continued: “But we responded well because the stadium gets a bit of energy, a wee bit more emotion, but we managed it well, and got the third goal. We went on and were very good in the game.

Matt O’Riley is surely, as Chris Sutton noted in his Sky Sports commentary yesterday, the outstanding player in the Scottish Premiership this season. Even Kris Boyd was singing his praises and predicting that O’Riley would be the next big money sale from Celtic but let’s hope not for a few more seasons yet.

“He is developing and that is what you want to see,” Brendan said. “It is a huge testament to him as he just wants to improve. We want to keep his game moving through the levels. His attitude to learning is brilliant as he is so honest to the game. He trains well and prepares well.

“He does all the right things and gives himself every chance, It was a brilliant finish. That is not an easy technique coming across your body. He makes a good run in the first place and is hungry to get in there. Then it is a great finish.”

On an embarrassing day for the Edinburgh outfit, Rodgers had his say on the reduced allocation that clearly backfired and ended up in costs Hearts a sizeable sum in lost revenue. The Celtic manager though simply limited himself to praising the support, who were back to their old ways chanting the Irishman’s name yesterday for the first time really, since he returned to the club.

“Whether it is 500 or 5000 they gave us great support. Hopefully, they can enjoy that,” Brendan said.

On Tomoki Iwata, who looks like playing a bigger role this season having now fully settled in at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers was happy for him getting his first goal for the club, and he also took time to mention the contribution from another substitute, the Celtic veteran winger James Forrest.

“It was a great finish and I am pleased for him. He works so hard. Some of these guys are very important for us. They maybe not start as many games as they would like but their contribution is really important. He came on and got his first goal for the club which is terrific,” Rodgers said about Tomoki.

“I also thought James Forrest was brilliant when he came into the game. We don’t have a winger as bright as him in our squad yet and I told the young guys afterwards to learn from him. The players in the periphery are so important for us,” Brendan concluded.