Celtic will face St Johnstone very soon again when they meet each other in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup. But based on the performance Brendan Rodgers' side put in at McDiarmid Park this weekend, the Premiership's bottom team have every reason to be hopeful about their chances in that upcoming game.
Celtic lost 1-0 at Perth. They had almost the entire game to find an equaliser against St Johnstone but simply could not find a way past the second-worst defence in the league.
Ultimately, it is unlikely that the result will have any impact on the title race. The Hoops still maintain their lead over the Rangers, who also lost this weekend. But this performances are starting to get worrying.
Celtic have been off the boil for some time now. We have not seen their best this year. They have lost two Glasgow Derbies against the Rangers and dropped several more points along the way. This is simply not good enough.
Celtic should worry about angry Brendan Rodgers' comments
Rodgers has noticed the downturn in his team's form as well. And he was not worried about letting the world know about it following the loss to St Johnstone. As reported by STV News, he said:
"There’s definitely anger. I’m trying to control it.
“And listen, I look at my own self first and foremost. I’m proud of my career and how I teach players and how I inspire them and how I motivate them.
“Am I doing the very best job I possibly can to inspire these and motivate these to get over the line? So that’s my first look.
“But I just think there’s a comfort there I don’t like. And it doesn’t matter if you’re 13 points or three points ahead. It’s not enough. We have to be much better than where we were in our ambition in the game.
“Ambition and desire come from within.
“My intention is to sprint over the line. And I’ve done that before and I know what it looks like.
“But I don’t like that side of it in this team. Because for Celtic, it’s winning in the best way you possibly can. Not just chugging your way over the line.
“So we have no excuses. It’s not about tiredness. It’s not about the pitch. St Johnstone have done great. They deserve a huge amount of credit.
“My concern is for Celtic and for the ambition of the team and the mentality and the progress of the team. Then these are interesting games for me to analyse."
Celtic do need to get better in the summer. It feels like this squad has stagnated. We saw signs of that in the 19/20 season and we all know how the following campaign turned out for the Hoops. No fan of the club wants to see a repeat of that anytime in the near future.
It remains to be seen what the club decide to do this summer. One can only hope that ample additions are made for this team to move forward. Otherwise, it is hard to see Rodgers remain beyond the end of his current deal.