Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised his players’ mentality after they followed up their derby triumph with a dominant 3-0 win over St Mirren.
The cinch Premiership leaders maintained the eight-point advantage they opened up with Saturday’s victory over Rangers, thanks to a flying start which saw Daizen Maeda net inside 60 seconds and Matt O’Riley slot home his 10th goal of the season six minutes in.
St Mirren had Toyosi Olusanya sent off in first-half stoppage-time and had goalkeeper Zach Hemming to thank for keeping the score down after Greg Taylor volleyed home on the hour mark.
Rodgers said: “It can always be a tricky game mentally and physically after a Rangers game but I thought we dealt with it really well and we made the start we wanted to. It was good tempo, good speed, so that set us up well in the game.
“These games are so important and I think as we work together more the players understand more the mentality that is required and the demands and you can now see the standard of performance we have put in place. And then the results will come.
“The second half the only downside was we never took the chances we created but we were much better 11 v 10 than we were at the weekend.
“We spoke about that after Rangers. You have to really dominate possession and counter press and we did that really well in the second half.”
Celtic have won all four of their games over the festive period after losing consecutive league matches for the first time in a decade.
“I think you can see that it is getting better and improving,” Rodgers said.
“Those results against Kilmarnock and Hearts, it was about learning from those. I think you can see the difference in the team and how they are working.
“And sometimes you need that. To have success you need to have that bit of adversity. How the players have responded to that has been fantastic.
“Their mentality, their attitude, the speed, the tempo of the games is what we want as well with much more creativity. The second part of the season I am excited about.”
Olusanya was sent off after catching Joe Hart in the face with his studs with a high boot following a VAR review but the game already looked beyond St Mirren.
Manager Stephen Robinson said: “It was a long evening. You can’t start like that and win football matches. Effectively the game was dead after six minutes.
“The more you come out the more they can open you up, so the game plan goes out the window.
“Frustrating, because we spoke about getting done on our inside shoulders with Maeda’s runs, and for the third goal we also got done for dropping our runner.
“As well as Celtic showed a lot of quality, of course, we didn’t control that situation well enough.
“Then it’s compounded by the red card which makes it damage limitation whichever way you dress it up.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Al Liverpool this Season Nunez scores hat-trick in friendly match after Ekitike deal agreed. Here we go !! Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool 95m(Liverpool now) What a joke What are Liverpool COOKING? We all wanted to grow up fast… only to see kids these days doing things..What were you doing at 17-18? Truly The PRIDE of LONDON! Please stay tuned on Dai...
Manchester United are hopeful of completing the signing of Bryan Mbeumo in time to be part of their squad for the preseason tour of the United States, sources have told ESPN.United have agreed a deal in excess of £70 million ($94m) with Brentford for the Cameroon forward.Mbeumo has undergone a medical and agreed personal terms ahead of his move to Old Trafford.An official announcement is expe...
Two more names on Wrexham's radar as summer spending continuesWrexham have been linked with two more transfer targets, as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side prepare for life in the Championship.The Red Dragons have expressed a serious interest in Bolton Wanderers' captain George Thomason. Local outlet The Bolton News reports The Trotters have even accepted a £1.2m bid for the 24-year-old...
Marcus Rashford landed in Barcelona on Sunday ahead of completing a season-long loan move from Manchester United.Rashford, 27, will undergo a medical early in the week and, if everything goes to plan, will be presented as a Barca player before the club head off on tour, a source told ESPN.Barca fly to Asia on Thursday and coach Hansi Flick was keen to have Rashford with the team in Japan and South...
Real Madrid have reportedly accelerated their interest in signing Ibrahima Konate by opening talks with Liverpool. The defender is said to have emerged as a target for the Spanish giants, who are looking to add to their existing options at the back. Konate is only tied down at Liverpool until the end of the upcoming season and is yet to sign a new deal.A move to the Bernabeu appears to be a real p...
Real Madrid plan bid for Liverpool defender KonateReal Madrid are willing to pay a fee this summer for Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate.Konate is inside the final 12 months of his contract and refusing to consider new terms offered by the Reds.Real Madrid are keen on the France international, who is also eager to make the move, says AS.Real Madrid are willing to offer €20-25m to sign Konat...
Saul ends Atletico Madrid deal ahead of Turkey moveSaul Niguez has been released from his contract at Atletico Madrid.According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano and a number of other media sources, the 30-year-old midfielder has terminated his deal with Atletico.Saul's deal had just under a year to run.He spent last year on-loan with Sevilla, but Saul is now leaving Spanish football for Turkey.A...
Galatasaray and Man City keeper Ederson agree contract termsGalatasaray have reached agreement with Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson over personal terms.It emerged last week that Gala had tabled a knockdown offer of €3m to City for the Brazil international.City regard Ederson at a far higher price, but it's now emerged the veteran has agreed terms with the Turkish giants.Local reporter Yag...
Boniface dismisses rumours of Bayer Leverkusen exitVictor Boniface has brushed aside speculation linking him with a summer exit from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.The Nigerian striker has been the subject of transfer rumors following a somewhat underwhelming 2024/25 campaign, in which he recorded 11 goals and one assist in 27 appearances across all competitions for the former Bundesliga champio...
Galatasaray agree deal with Napoli to sign Victor OsimhenGalatasaray have reached a full agreement with Napoli for the permanent signing of Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian striker, who impressed during his 2024/25 loan spell with 37 goals and eight assists in 41 appearances, will join Okan Buruk’s side permanently.0Galatasaray will pay Osimhen’s €75m release clause, with €40m ...
- 1 Model skips Lamine Yamal's party over 'weird demands'
- 2 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 3 Jude Bellingham finally undergoes surgery on recurrent dislocated shoulder injury as Real Madrid confirm successful procedure for England star ahead of long layoff
- 4 Noni Madueke parties at Wireless with Jadon Sancho
- 5 Colwill says the Club World Cup will be bigger than the Champions League
- 6 Chelsea star’s stunning model Wag captured 'best UFO footage ever'
- 7 'Man Utd are losing a great player!' - Paul Pogba reacts to Marcus Rashford's 'crazy' imminent transfer to Barcelona
- 8 AC Milan fans go crazy as Modric arrives at Casa Milan to sign contract
- 9 Real Madrid plan bid for Liverpool defender Konate
- 10 Former Arsenal star Xhaka to reject Premier League return