A BRENDAN BACKLASH

In the past few months, Celtic has put on a string of lacklustre performances that have damaged Brendan Rodgers’ reputation and damaged his ego. As a result, Celtic has lost first place in the Premiership.
For the 51-year-old Northern Irishman, this is unfamiliar and unpleasant territory after his first spell in charge of the Parkhead club produced seven straight domestic trophies, including two consecutive trebles.

In his second stint, the shine has peeled off after he was thrust into the spotlight in June due to Ange Postecoglou’s hurried departure to Spurs following the 3-1 victory over Inverness Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup Final.
After two exciting years and five honours, the Greek-Australian also bid farewell to Glasgow and his devoted fans as the sun kissed Hampden on a beautiful afternoon.

It was always going to be difficult to follow the guy who took over the disarray from the previous trophyless campaign.
After the Hoops administration swiftly replaced him with a “elite manager,” Brendan Rodgers was happy to sign a hard-to-get three-year deal with the expectation that he would continue where he left off.
When the holders were eliminated from the League Cup by Kilmarnock following a bewilderingly subdued performance by an admittedly revamped Hoops lineup that included players like Odin Holm, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki, and Yang Hyun-jun on the artificial field at Rugby Park, Cracks started to show in just his third game.

The champions opened the door to losing the top spot in the league 24 hours later to their closest rivals from Ibrox, who defeated St Johnstone 3-0 in Perth to go two points clear with 12 games remaining, after a dull 1-1 draw with the same club at Parkhead on Saturday.
After failing to maintain a steady hand on the steering wheel, Rodgers is now squarely in the firing line, and former Celtic goal hero Chris Sutton was not too slow to weigh in.

The outspoken pundit didn’t hold back in the aftermath of the draw with Killie, saying, “Let’s get it right – the result didn’t come as a great shock.” Celtic has had a very mediocre season.
“I am aware that Brendan was discussing the recent performance, having won eight out of the previous nine.

“Really, the victories have just covered up the holes. There haven’t been any performances. Celtic is not a good team this season; they are not fooling anyone.Everyone is talking about the board, signings, and how long this moment has been coming. However, Brendan Rodgers needs to accept accountability.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sutton continued, “It’s the manager’s fault; I can’t think of a single Celtic player who he has improved this season.
“You consider the points that Celtic has given up on the home court. Forget about the disastrous Champions League campaign. In a nutshell, Celtic hasn’t done well on the domestic front.
“This season, the number of teams that have outplayed the Celtics in both halves of a football game has exceeded my memory by a wide margin. That’s Brendan’s fault.

“Why does that happen? We’ve discussed the wide players briefly. Under Ange Postecoglou, it moved quickly and furiously. They are playing a slow, methodical style of football.
At this point in time, fear is not a factor. The Kilmarnock result didn’t come as a huge surprise to anyone because teams like to defeat them.
Rodgers is currently feeling the fallout from a season in which his team has not been able to make an impression on a regular basis.
The manager and his team will be scrutinised once more when they play Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday. However, he still has time to gather himself and try again.
Should Philippe Clement’s team defeat Hearts at Ibrox the day before, the winners will enter that match five points behind and with no margin for error.
As previously reported by CQN, Rodgers acknowledged that he enjoyed “a challenge.”
The manager of Celtics has one on his hands right now, for sure.

In other news, ‘We are struggling’ – Stephen Welsh says one essential component will help Celtic turn the season around.