BRENDAN RODGERS added an extra attacking threat to his team when he withdrew Tomoki Iwata to put on Paulo Bernardo in the 77th minute at Fir Park on Sunday.
With the score deadlocked at 1-1 against a battling Motherwell, it made sense to remove a midfield anchorman and put on a playmaker.
A section of the Celtic support clearly weren’t singing from the same hymn sheet as their manager and reacted with derision.
The jeers came over loud and clear at the ground and the live Sky transmission as well as the highlights on BBC later that evening.
UP IN ARMS…Brendan Rodgers makes a call for a decision against Motherwell.
As Rodgers prepared for this evening’s visit of Dundee as the title clock continues to tick, the Irishman emphasised the value of utilising his match day squad and, speaking to Celtic TV, said: “It’s very important, especially when you get booed for taking off a defender and putting on an attacker. That seems strange.
“For me, it doesn’t really matter. It’s more for the player coming on and for the team. I think that it’s a negative reaction which I don’t quite understand.
“You’re one each in the game, you take off a defensive midfield player and put on an attacking player. An attacking player who has scored goals this season and you get booed.
“It just seems a little strange, but, thankfully, the players’ mentality on the pitch was superb.
“They kept going and kept fighting and all the great work that they did, especially in the second-half in terms of tiring the opponent out, that led to the couple of goals at the end.”
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL…Paulo Bernardo (extreme left) and Tomoki Iwata (third right) are among he celebrating Celtic players at the conclusion of a dramatic 3-1 triumph at Fir Park.
The champions looked disjointed and way off the pace in the opening 45 minutes and trailed 1-0 at the interval to a goal from Blair Spittal.
Ironically, it was a goal from Rodgers’ first replacement Adam Idah, on for Kyogo Furuhashi, who threw the visitors a lifeline with a thunderous header.
Stoppage-time strikes from the Republic of Ireland international powerhouse and Luis Palma – another second-half replacement for Daizen Maeda – made certain the points were secure.
Some may say they were inspired substitutions by the manager.
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