Why Celtic must return to the game with their best foot forward

What is it they say? If it ain’t broken, do not restore it – right?

For Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers it need to experience like it has been damaged all season and that he has had no rapid fix. Injuries to key personnel at essential junctures in the campaign have viewed the champions garner any consistency or fluency this season. It has at instances threatened to derail everything.

American shielding colossus Cameron Carter-Vickers has had his honest share of harm woes and missed most of the season. Japanese midfield dynamo Reo Hatate has been in the equal boat and has had to watch a massive part of the campaign from the sidelines. Hatate’s compatriot Daizen Maeda has also had his troubles with injury as nicely as being known as up for national provider with Japan at the Asian Cup.

Throw in the likes of Polish defender Maik Nawrocki, Israeli winger Liel Abada, homeboy Greg Taylor and now Alistair Johnston all having spells on the treatment desk at a number intervals then the Northern Irishman will probable admit that he has by no means recognised a football marketing campaign like it in his career.

Celtic in accordance to Rodgers have lacked concord and rhythm for massive chunks. You can say that again.

The defending Scottish Premiership champions and Scottish Cup holders have frequently struggled to hit the opposition with their rhythm stick on severa activities this season.

Rodgers is no blockhead even though and whilst performance degrees may additionally have dipped these days he is adamant that in spite of the many setbacks his facet has continued they nonetheless have not lost the capability to eke out results and win matches.

The 51-year-old nonetheless believes that his prices can go via the gears and up their levels. He said: “I always appear for persistent improvement. It is comprehensible as there are key players that have missed a lot of the season. The crew has been damaged a lot of the season in phrases of that rhythm and the level of the players that have been missing.

“Added to that you have new players coming in looking to adapt the way you desire to work and gamers coming in that have maybe now not performed for a little while. All of that leads to the team now not being as cohesive as you want to be. The gamers are nevertheless giving everything. They are working very hard. They have received six out of the remaining seven games, so while you are searching for that cohesion and extra creativity it is still vital to win and that is what the players are doing.”

One large positive to emerge from Wednesday night in Edinburgh used to be the contribution of the on-loan Norwich City striker Adam Idah who kept his cool to calmly stroke two penalties away with consummate ease and hand Celtic all three precious Premiership points in the process. Allowing for Celtic’s woes from 12 yards this season – they have overlooked 4 spot kicks – Rodgers reckons that the Republic of Ireland international will continue to get higher with difficult work.

He reckons the natural Genius wants to continue to nurture his Genius and that will solely serve to advantage Celtic down the home stretch in what is historically recognised as the commercial enterprise give up of the season. He said: “It was important to get a level of player that ought to come in and contribute. That was once Adam’s first 90 minutes for a lengthy length of time. What was once actually astonishing was once – in phrases of his two penalties – the composure and authority that he showed.

“It is now not easy, specially the timeline for him taking the first one and netting his first intention for the club and then the remaining one at the end which was going to with a bit of luck be a triumphing goal. To rating them with that authority was once great. In the proper sport itself, simply him coming to terms with how we desired to press the sport and how we desired to run in behind, he was continuously looking and he received into some suitable positions. He’s only going to get better. He has to hold pushing himself.

“There are plenty of gamers in the world that have Genius but you do not comprehend their names. They are enjoying in parks in more than a few cities round the world. He has a brain however he has to maintain making sure that he works and works and if he can do that then he’ll be a actual asset for Celtic between now and the end of the season.”

It remains to be seen if the midweek last-gasp 2-1 win over Hibernian at Easter Road can have a galvanising effect on Rodgers and his guys in green and white. All the speak has turned to the reality that we are strapping ourselves in for a close-run Scottish Premiership title race however all of that chatter is on the back burner this weekend as Celtic heads to Paisley to take on Stephen Robinson’s on-form St Mirren in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.

Ironically one of Celtic’s highs this season came at the SMiSA Stadium when they easily brushed the Saints aside 3-0 on January 2nd. Rodgers has challenged his men to replicate those levels. He said: “The League and the Scottish Cup are two one of a kind competitions. It has truely nothing to do with the league however it is a recreation that takes us on the way to the final. That’s the place we want to get to.

“I would expect that level. That’s the degree that we need to bring. Stephen’s (Robinson) team are in surely good shape and has had a couple of accurate results. They’ll see this as a chance because they are at domestic to avenge our closing performance there. We played simply nicely in that game. We maximised having eleven versus 10. We will be geared up for that.

“I suppose if you appear at it then it in all likelihood is one of the hardest ties we ought to have drawn The form they are in and how nicely they have been doing speaks for itself. If you are going to win any cup opposition then you have to negotiate a number of hurdles and play challenging away games. That is part of the draw and you have to take delivery of that.

“I assume that Stephen’s groups are very well coached, they’ll play balanced and press at the proper moments and be aggressive at the same time as defending the spaces. I assume we’ll plan and put together for a sport where they’ll shield properly and together. The onus will be on us to be creative to damage them down.”

That creative spark may additionally have deserted Celtic quickly however that is some thing that can be fixed and Sunday in Paisley could well be the best event to do it. Just as he did in midweek Rodgers implored his guys to carry their Celtic heart and soul to the table, if nothing else. he said: “I stated to the players earlier than the Hibs in shape that they had 14 video games to go and we had to give our heart and soul to each and every recreation and naturally that was once our analysis after the game.

“We choose to play better and there have been spells in the recreation – the begin of each halves when we were fast and shiny and compelled them lower back – however the evaluation will inform us that we have to deliver our ‘A’ game into the subsequent match.

“You can’t preserve it. If you do not play well in many games then you can’t expect to win. So for us, the work over the closing few days has been to convey our ‘A’ sport again and when you are perhaps not pretty at your nice you just need to have that coronary heart and mentality to preserve going to the end and get the win which is very important.”

If Celtic do manipulate to carry their ‘A’ sport for the the rest of the campaign then that will make them the A-Team. If they do win the League and Scottish Cup double, then it will be Rodgers who’ll love it as his diagram will have come together.