Brendan Rodgers told he made mistake which could cost Celtic

Most Celtic fans would have been delighted with the club's 3-1 win over St Johnstone. It was one of the rare occasions this season in which they seemed in control of the game after they went up and was most definitely a much improved performance from what we have seen from Brendan Rodgers' the majority of the time.

Of course, it was not perfect though. The Hoops could not keep a clean sheet once again with Connor Smith scoring a goal for St Johnstone in the 81st minute of the game.

While it did not affect the result of the game, it did have an impact on the goal difference. And with things so tight in the title race, every inch matters at this point.

Amid all this, Rodgers' decision to not bring in Gustaf Lagerbielke when Cameron Carter-Vickers was taken off has been criticised. Instead, Tomoki Iwata was shifted into the heart of defence and he did not exactly shine in that role. The Swede was eventually brought on in the 86th minute.

Rodgers told he made mistake which could cost Celtic

As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Pat Bonner said regarding the matter on BBC Radio Scotland:

"They made the change and took off Carter-Vickers. They didn’t put him on.

“They put Iwata back in that defensive role and he was the main guy in the middle of the pitch. And they changed that round that midfield with Holm coming on.

“And there was about three or four changes in not one change. So why would you not bring on Lagerbielke in the first place to replace Carter-Vickers?

“Then we start talking about goal difference [in the title race], it does matter."

In hindsight, perhaps Rodgers should have brought in Lagerbielke when he took Carter-Vickers off. But then, Iwata is very capable of playing in that position as well. In fact, he was one of the best in Japan as a centre-back. So, one cannot really criticise that decision.

Considering the plethora of problems that Celtic have right now, conceding a goal in a game they won comfortably does not feel like the biggest one. That being said, their inability to keep clean sheets is a worry. The last time they kept one was against St Mirren in the Scottish Cup in early February. In league competition, it was against Ross County in January and remains the only one they have managed after the winter break.