Supporters had every right to send a message to Celtic

Woe is me sums up that post match analysis from Brendan Rodgers, who hit back at the Celtic supporters after the 1-0 win over Ross County on his muddy and unfit for purpose hybrid pitch. Remember it cost £2m and Brendan himself asked for it and talked up as being like the Arsenal surface and would help produce fast, free flowing football.

Even the old disco lights, installed by Peter Lawwell instead of signing John McGinn, turned out to be a better investment than that £2m hybrid pitch, which urgently needs replacing. Remember when Motherwell had the worst (grass) pitch in the league? They are hardly rolling in excess cash over at Fir Park but nevertheless resolved to sort out the problem and earlier this season the Celtic manager was praising the quality of the pitch at Fir Park.

So the state of the hybrid pitch that cost £2m after being asked for by Brendan Rodgers in the months before he left Celtic to join Leicester City is not the fault of the Celtic support. Let’s get that clear before we go any further.

Indeed Matt O’Riley was saying last weekend that our pitch ‘wasn’t the best’ after the match against Buckie Thistle in the first game played on it since 30 December 2023.

Brendan had this to say about the Celtic supporters post match: “I’ve had that since I’ve been here. If it’s not the result, it’s me. If not me, the board. So, all we can do as a team is win games, and try to improve and develop – and win. That’s what the team has done. The team and ourselves as staff work hard every day together, and that’s how we will continue to be. If it falls below the expectation, then we’ll do everything we can to be better.”

Brendan came back in the summer, addressed the hurt that he had caused by his shock exit in February 2019, and told his remaining critics that he’d see them outside the front door at Celtic Park in May (for the league winning celebrations).

And while a small percentage of supporters were not prepared to forgive and forget straight away they were clearly in the minority and Brendan can’t really complain too much about the reception that he’s had so far. He’s even had a song or two sung in his honour. So the Celtic support are relatively blameless on that one, given the circumstances.

The manager told us we needed four signings and confirmed this around that period in mid-December of successive league defeats for the first time in a decade that has opened the door to what seemed an unlikely title challenge. Any booing at the final whistle yesterday, from the supporters still in the ground (including myself) was reflective of the league table and the inconsistency at Celtic Park against teams like St Johnstone, Motherwell and nearly Ross County – where we have dropped four points that very nearly turned out to be six. Incidentally, the St Johnstone draw was in August when the state of the pitch issue was not a topic of conversation.

Brendan mentioned the Board too and with £70m in the bank – the Board get credit for this but they forget that the fans pay a HUGE part in that too with continually spending hard eared money with the football club – but with a £60m bonanza coming to the winners of the Scottish Premiership this season, where the stakes have never been this high.

Remember that COVID season when we all bought and paid for our season tickets and never got to attend a game? Not one of the English Premier League clubs had a support prepared to do that.

And despite their the windfall of getting £25m seemingly out of nowhere for Jota last summer and having more cash in the bank than at any time in Celtic’s history, the summer transfer window (where the plans were very much in place ahead of Brendan’s return) produced a mini-bus full of project signings but with very few making a real impact in the first team with the stated objective from the incoming manager of achieving European football after Christmas failing to happen.

Then we were then told by Brendan that he needed four quality signings and after the financial results became known we all assumed that this would be addressed in the January window, and we are now with a few days remaining we have Alexandro Bernabei as our left-back, no real cover for Joe Hart (who saved the day yesterday) and Kyogo as the only striker. He doesn’t get a kick of the ball these days and that’s not down to the supporters, nor is the inability to take spot kicks, something that The Celtic Star asked Brendan Rodgers about after one of Palma’s earlier misses, which was identical to his first effort yesterday.

That double spot kick-miss summed up the entire shambles we’re watching unfold and the Celtic support is both worried and unhappy. How else can the ordinary supporters – who were still there at the end yesterday – express their feelings that through booing? Please tell us Brendan?

It’s a message that we are unhappy with what we are seeing, how the football department of the club is being run, how the team is being coached (penalties, Kyogo), how the squad is being managed and how transfer business of being conducted yet again. It’s also a frustration that we’ve allowed a title race to develop and it’s a warning that it needs sorting and sorting quickly. Just look at our next three fixtures. Aberdeen and Hibs away in the Scottish Premiership and then St Mirren away in the Scottish Cup.

No-one is saying that anyone employed by Celtic don’t work hard at Lennoxtown but we all work hard, Brendan and this is our football club. Unlike everyone at Lennoxtown (excluding of course Lisbon Lion, John Clark) we are all here for a lifetime.

Back to the Celtic manager’s criticism for the Celtic Park pitch, Brendan continued his own form of booing in his post match media conference.

“I know speaking to the staff it has been the situation over the last few years. It’s something as a club we need to address, as a flagship club in Scotland and especially with how we want to play. It’s not overloaded with games – it’s more a field than a pitch. That’s the reality but however it sits we have to get the job done and thankfully we did that. I think when you speak to the players and opposition it’s a bit of a surprise.

“But you look at Liam Scales’ pass, it comes off the toe and popped off. Matt O’Riley’s popped up and the fans get anxious but that’s the pitch. “Then Cal gets ready to take a shot and it pops up and nearly goes up towards the top tier. We have to deal with it.”

The most important point was the three that Celtic secured but came dangerous close to dropping a couple of. Rodgers said: “You put it down to a good result, Ross County coming with new players and enthusiasm. We get a really good start and should have been more comfortable. It was one of those games when if you don’t take your chances and take your moments.”

New players gives you enthusiasm, who would have thought it? Even if you are Ross County coming to the home of the Champions. Maybe the Celtic support are looking for some of that enthusiasm of our own for the trips to Pittodie, Easter Road and Paisley?

“We made a great start then towards the end it gets a little bit anxious. I think we made a good start then missing penalties creates bit of anxiety in the stadium. Then we’ve probably just not been decisive, in the first half. Second half the structure was better. It’s very difficult to play on the pitch and the challenge for us.

“People were miscueing the ball. Joe Hart didn’t have much to do then after the little breakaway at the end he makes a good save and the guys get the job done.”

On the last few days of the transfer window, the Celtic manager gave this update.

“There are a number of areas we’re looking at. I can only concentrate on the players I have here. There are areas we are looking to improve on. Hopefully there’s movement, that’s the plan. Getting that player in who can help our level and let us develop.”

The Celtic support knows we have the money (£70m in the bank) and we know that theRangers are broke yet we see them making signings and getting rid of non-performers.

So the booing at full-time yesterday is understandable and indeed was necessary. It’s a message from Celtic season ticket holders to the club that we as a support are not at all happy and hopefully this article and others like it across the main Celtic fan media sites will be listened to at long last.

Here’s Matt McGlone, one time of Celts for Change, giving his views on Brendan’s post match comments…

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