Rodgers responds to Keane’s Celtic jibe

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has responded to Roy Keane’s claim they need to change their mindset if they want to remain a big club.

The former Celtic player and current Ireland number two said that Celtic should not be accepting defeats to European minnows like Lincoln Red Imps and Hapoel’ Be’er Sheva, as well as the humbling defeat to Barcelona in midweek.

Rodgers said that he respected his opinion and gave his view on Celtic’s situation having experienced it from inside the walls of Paradise on a daily basis.

As quoted by the Scotsman, the Hoops boss said:

Listen, I respect his opinion. He has been a manager and he understands and he is an assistant now. Where we are at is we had to go through six real tough qualification games.

Until you’ve experienced it – and I have to be honest, I was totally ignorant of the fact of what it took because normally I was on my holidays – and until you actually come through it, until you actually experience the emotion and what it means to people [you can’t really judge it].

I am not talking [English] Premier League top end, we are talking a country here that has to fight for the right to be in qualification. Players who have to go through a whole season and then go through six qualifying games.

I think the players have every right, out of relief, out of ambition, to celebrate success if success was to reach the Champions League. A lot of them have never been there before. Why shouldn’t they celebrate? The job over the next two or three years is to develop and improve that capability, to be there and to be better in their performance levels.

Rodgers’ side have started the domestic season on fire, winning every game and scoring 20 goals in the process as well as qualifying for the Champions League group stages after a three-year absence.

Celtic will face Inverness for the first time this season on Sunday with the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table if Hearts slip up against St Johnstone later today (Saturday) in Perth.