BRENDAN RODGERS has stressed results concerning other teams are “irrelevant” as he prepares his Celtic players for a league and Cup double bid.
The Hoops boss responded to queries about outcomes elsewhere with their nearest challengers in the Premiership dropping five points from a possible six to leave the champions three clear with five games to go.
Philippe Clement’s Ibrox side appear to be wilting under extreme pressure and crashed 3-2 to Ross County in Dingwall last weekend and followed that reverse with a scoreless stalemate against Dundee at Dens Park in midweek.
Rodgers is concentrating solely on the performances from his Hoops players as they get ready for tomorrow’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden.
ON THE CREST OF A WAVE…Brendan Rodgers at Lennoxtown as he prepares his Celtic players for the campaign’s crescendo.
The Northern Irishman said: “Listen, we haven’t won anything yet. We can only do our work because you can’t soften up, especially at this time, just because another team have drawn or lost or whatever.
“That’s irrelevant.
“You have to perform and get the result. If you come off it against teams that are motivated and organised then they can give you a problem.
“For us, we have to continually focus on our own performance irrespective of what happens elsewhere.”
Rodgers, speaking to Sky Sports, continued: “We have to create our story and for that we have to work at it. Hopefully, that will be the storyline come the end of the season.
“It’s not how you start the marathon, it’s how you finish it.
“For us, we’re improving day by day, looking good on the field with still lots of improvements to make. Performances in the main have been good.”
CELTIC TRIUMPHANT…Brendan Rodgers celebrates the win over Hibs at Easter Road in February.
Rodgers sounded another note of caution when he added: “There’s a long, long way to go in the league. Five games, 15 points is a lot of points to play for.”
The champions return to Premiership action a week on Sunday with a visit to Dens Park where they won 3-0 on Boxing Day with goals from Paulo Bernardo and Mikey Johnsnton (2).
In the meantime, though, the focus is totally on Aberdeen tomorrow and the quest to achieve a place in the Cup Final on the iconic date of May 25.
