This Celtic team and its manager is angry and hurting. We should be glad for that.

Amidst all the furore and the headlines about Brendan Rodgers’ comments in relation to the Celtic fans—and that small, tiny section of them he chose to single out for criticism—Rodgers said a hell of a lot more in the aftermath of the game yesterday, much of which wasn’t as widely reported.

I understand why people prefer to focus on the controversy. I understand why the media wants to highlight the supposed drama of Rodgers having a go at an element of the Celtic fan base. But they missed the bigger story because, once again, Rodgers demonstrated perfectly why he’s the best manager in the country—and why the Ibrox boss is facing the sack while Rodgers is preparing for another 12 months of success.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Rodgers said this:

“We’re not used to losing, and obviously we deserved to lose in the last game. But we didn’t dwell on it. We analysed the game and see it as a learning opportunity, and the players took that into (this one). I think the only thing we’ve done in the last couple of days before kick-off is just recalibrate after the last game. We arrived at the halfway point in a really good place. We focused ourselves because that’s all you can control, really. Of course, if other teams drop points, then that’s the way it goes, but for us, it’s all just part of the climb—it’s the journey to get to the very end by the end of the season. For us, it really is about our performance because you can’t control what other teams do.”

This is Rodgers at his best, speaking about how we responded to a setback. He didn’t turn it into a crisis. No one at Celtic did. They simply sat down, analysed the game, and then, as he puts it, recalibrated.

As I said yesterday in my match report, what we needed was a no-frills victory—something that simply restored things to their normal state. And that’s exactly what we got yesterday. It wasn’t devastating football. It didn’t have to be. It was simple. It was a clear restatement of our intent.

Contrast this with what happened in Edinburgh. I’ll write about that later today, but it’s stark, isn’t it? One manager admits his mistakes and vows to learn from them. He can take defeat in his stride. The other constantly looks for excuses. He can’t give opponents credit, and he won’t take any of the blame.

A lot of the critics are taking shots at the manager today, and it’s because a lot of people just don’t like being told when they’re wrong. While I think criticism is something Rodgers has to take on the chin—and whilst I think, stylistically, we’re nice to watch but need a harder edge sometimes—I understand his frustration.

I wrote about it myself the other day: most football fans in the modern age don’t understand what they’re watching or why teams do certain things, often because of instructions from the manager. So I don’t have a big problem with Rodgers having a go, and his remark that the team doesn’t need support from the fans when it’s 3-0 up is something a lot of people should reflect on before attacking him for it.

Not only is Rodgers a good leader, but he wants to bring the fans into the project. He wants them to understand what’s happening and why he’s doing what he’s doing. He knows that a lot of them don’t. A lot of fans equate careful, probing passing with negativity. I don’t think it works all the time—I don’t think it works against certain opponents—but for the most part, this is how he wants us to play. And he wants us to understand why he wants us to play that way.

Here’s the thing: if you’re listening to the gibbering, jabbering lunatic across the city, you know that he too has very definite ideas about how he wants to play football. But the difference is that, for the most part, those ideas don’t work. You only need to look at the respective positions of the two clubs to realise that Rodgers’ methods do work. They get the job done. They’ve put us 13 points clear at the top of the table and delivered the first domestic silverware of the season.

Yes, I agree with some people who think Rodgers’ anger stems from a place of hurt and frustration at the Ibrox result. To me, that’s good news. I want people at Celtic to be hurting. I want them to feel the way we do as fans. And there is no question that they do right now.

Expect a slightly different Rodgers tomorrow. Expect him to sound a little contrite. The further we move on from Ibrox, the more calm, settled, and relaxed everyone will be as it fades into memory. He’s said his piece. He doesn’t need to say anything else.

I prefer to listen to the really important stuff, and Rodgers has settled the nerves in ways the boss across town wouldn’t even begin to understand. Rodgers has accepted responsibility. He’s acknowledged that we weren’t just beaten but well beaten by a side that was vastly better on the day, and he’s said so publicly. That matters. The players have said it too, and that also matters.

This team is angry and motivated more than ever. That was the real takeaway from what Rodgers said in the aftermath of the game. That was a far more important headline than a little dig at a handful of supporters. This team is hurting, and it wants payback. Until we have the Ibrox club in our sights again, we’re going to take it out on every other team we play.

Music to my ears.

Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images