“I am at the stage now in my career and my life where I do not need to bite my tongue,” Brendan Rodgers

Q: How easy or difficult is it for the likes of Greg to ignore the noise when he runs into the last few months of a contract, the crowd and what not? Is it easy for him to turn off to that?

Brendan Rodgers:  “Yes, I think Greg is clear on where he is at. For me, he is a dedicated Celt. He has been someone that has walked nearly six years. I think tomorrow if he plays, it is 200 games as a Celtic player which is a lot of games. He is a brilliant servant and I hope he can continue to be that throughout my time here and beyond. I think you see from his performance level, his concentration, his commitment to the team and to the club is always there. There is always a little backdrop for every player and manager but he copes with it really well and you see that in how consistent he is in his performances.

Q: Would you think that it would be better for a quick resolution to this matter, considering the noise that is going on around about it for all parties involved, if there was a quick resolution to this contract?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, you always want that ideally but I am sure Greg does as well. I think between the club and he and his representatives, they will find a solution to it I am sure, either way. In the meantime, I am here to support him and his performance level and as I said, he is absolutely fine with it all.”

Q: Do you think Celtic fans will see where you were coming from with your comments?

Brendan Rodgers: “I can never say to anyone what to say, what to think, what to sing, what to not. I know what my own personal value is and a lot of it is based around respect. But for me, the Celtic support is an amazing support base, what they give the team and how they support the team and how they travel with the team. I am not going to tell people what to think, but like I said, for me it is just that bigger picture around this period of games in particular, where pitches are a wee bit lumpier than what they normally would be and the game may be a little bit slower than what it can normally be. So that is not always the fault of the players, that is just sometimes how it is. But for us, it is that support that can really help the team in what is a really, really gruelling period for us.

Q: You have been around the block too often now, you have not been shocked by anything. Have you been surprised by the scale of the debate that the comments provoked since the post-match?

Brendan Rodgers: “I have to be totally honest, I have not seen anything. We played the game, we recover, we train and then our focus is primarily on the game. I think it is obviously in your guys’ world, it is not in my world. Everything is open for debate now, win, lose, draw, whatever you say. It is not something that I get attracted to really, my focus is really on the team in our next game.

Q: Can you understand some Celtic fans, we had them on the show last night replying to your comments saying that their singing of the Kieran Tierney song, they felt was separate to the Greg Taylor issue, can you understand what they might be coming for?

Brendan Rodgers: “I said before and I repeat, everyone has an opinion, everyone has an emotion, people can say what they think and that is okay.”

CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE…