BEAMING Brendan Rodgers hailed his “exceptional” Celtic players after their rampant 5-1 triumph at Ibrox this afternoon.
The Premiership champions, unbeaten in 42 games, are now only five matches away from ending the domestic season unbeaten.
If they continue the sequence and beat Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on May 27 they will complete the treble – only the fourth time the clean sweep has been achieved in Hoops history.
Celtic thumped five past Sevco Rangers for the second time this season, but Rodgers felt the victory, their fifth in six Old Firm meetings, could have been even more one-sided.
He said: “It was an outstanding team performance. From the very first whistle, we were exceptional. The only disappointment was we could have scored more goals.
“We created really good chances to score more. We made a really good start and before the game I said we thought they would maybe play a diamond and we were able to exploit that down the sides.
“We had a number of chances. Some of our football was exceptional, quick combinations at speed.
“Fundamentally, the players pressed the game very well. Our tactical organisation for getting the ball back was key today. Very pleased and another three points.
“A lot of our game has improved as the season has gone on. I said when I came in, we would get better and better.
“If you compare that 5-1 to the 5-1 earlier this season, there’s a big difference for me in terms of tactical organisation and players understanding the concepts of what we’re trying to do.
“I came in and everyone was talking about Leigh Griffiths getting 40 goals last season. After that, the second highest goalscorer was Tom Rogic with 10. That was something that needed to change and it has changed.
“Collectively, they all understand their roles in terms of getting forward and who needs to score goals and who needs to be effective.
“You saw that today, lots of different players scoring from different positions.”
Hoops left-back Kieran Tierney agreed with his manager, adding: “We actually could have had a few more goals. We played brilliantly.”
Hoops skipper Scott Brown added: “The lads were outstanding from start to finish.
“We’ve come here twice and we’ve won twice, so it shows you everyone is looking as sharp as they possibly can.”
