Brendan Rodgers got a much-needed reaction from his Celtic players over the weekend.
After Celtic were beaten by St Johnstone, Rodgers wasn’t a happy man, and he made his feelings clear towards the players.
This wasn’t a case of the Celtic manager being angry at that isolated result or performance, but what he has been seeing since the turn of the year.
In truth, the Celtic Park faithful didn’t disagree with what Rodgers had to say, so it wasn’t a surprise when there were big changes for the visit of Kilmarnock on Saturday.
From Adam Idah returning to the XI to Nicolas Kuhn being benched, it worked a treat, with Celtic putting five past Kilmarnock, including four inside half an hour.
It was the champions-elect and the Treble-chasers at their best, but it doesn’t mean that some of the players are still immune to criticism or getting booted out in the summer.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesAdam Idah and Auston Trusty told they have been a ‘waste of money’ at Celtic
After Idah’s successful loan spell from Norwich City, which included the winner in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers, it was obvious he was going to return to Glasgow permanently.
But Hugh Keevins told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard that Idah has been a ‘waste of money’, alongside another summer capture, Auston Trusty.
Idah started the game against Killie, whilst Trusty was absent because his partner gave birth to their child, as Celtic’s man up top couldn’t find the back of the net despite five goals going in.
“Management is a solitary business,” said Keevins. “Brendan Rodgers is thinking, ‘what is going on with these people? I will have to make changes (in the summer), because of this complacency’.
“When he says ‘new players are required’, yeah, he is right. Auston Trusty. Waste of money. Adam Idah. Waste of money.”
Nicolas Kuhn and Jota are also in the firing line
Nicolas Kuhn’s form has fallen off, and it wasn’t a surprise to see him benched, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had a very strong season overall.
As for Jota, following his return to where he made a name for himself, Keevins thinks the January recruit has become too comfortable in his seat.
Jota has been told to ‘get his finger out’, as Rodgers is expected to make changes in the summer.
“Nicolas Kuhn. Whatever happened to Nicolas Kuhn?” added Keevins. “Some other guy has taken his place in the team.
“Jota, the stopover king, he can get his finger out as well. He is in a comfort zone. There is a lot of things on Brendan Rodgers’ mind, and as I say, he is in a solitary business. He has to live with this, and he is looking at his players and thinking ‘not good enough’.”