Brendan Rodgers might have been very successful during his first stint as Celtic manager, but things have not exactly gone his way after returning to the club for a second spell. The Hoops were eliminated early from the Scottish League Cup but most people wrote it off as a one-off result. Unfortunately, there have been far too many such results in recent times.
The latest was another defeat away at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock. Matt O'Riley put the Hoops in the lead in the first half and Rodgers' side were playing well. But things went south after the break.
Celtic just could not get going in the second half. Kilmarnock scored twice and got all three points. To be very honest, the home side deserved the win. It was not a case of them sitting back and hoping for a goal. They were the better team.
On the other hand, questions are already been asked about Rodgers and whether the club made a mistake bringing him back after Ange Postecoglou left. And the Northern Irishman's comments after the defeat have not filled people with confidence.
Celtic fans unhappy with Rodgers' reaction after loss
As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Rodgers said on BBC Radio Scotland:
"I thought the performance first half was very good. We scored a very good goal and could have had more goals. Our intensity was good.
“The second half we never got started. We played the game that Kilmarnock wanted us to play instead of playing our game. We got rid of the ball, second half, instead of passing it and that meant we couldn’t sustain any pressure. We got undone with an unfortunate own goal and a second goal we didn’t defend well enough.
“You have to be able to deal with that pressure, so when a team comes on to you or a team is pressing you, you have to be able to manipulate the ball and figure that out. That was the biggest disappointment in that second half.”
“We’re a little bit inconsistent at the moment. The first half at St Johnstone we weren’t good enough and the second half we were there – it was the reverse today. We can’t make excuses with injuries, we have good players, we showed in the first half we can play to a good level, the second half we didn’t."
The problem most Celtic fans had with Rodgers' reaction to the loss was the lack of one. It was a fair assessment of the game for sure but not much more.
The fact of the matter is that Celtic have struggled for consistency all season. When was the last time that they went on a good run of results?
That being said, one also needs to recognise the need to bring in more quality players. This is a weaker team from last season. And even in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign, the Hoops had felt pretty flat.