Ex-Premier League star names what’s eating Rangers fans up about Celtic as bombshell Ibrox return predicted

Ex-Premier League star names what’s eating Rangers fans up about Celtic as bombshell Ibrox return predicted

Steven Gerrard applauds the Rangers fans in his first game in charge of the club. | SNS Group

A former Premier League star reckons a Rangers title winner could return to Govan.

A former Premier League star reckons there’s something eating away at Rangers fans when it comes to Celtic – as a major return is predicted.

Paul Robinson counts Leeds United, Tottenham, Blackburn Rovers and Burnley amongst his former clubs. He has also been capped by England but he also keeps an eye on proceedings north of the border.

Celtic currently hold a lead over Philippe Clement’s Rangers, and the last man to break their stranglehold on the title was Robinson’s former England teammate, Steven Gerrard. He was Ibrox gaffer in 2021 when they last won the league.

The ex-goalkeeper can see Gerrard making a Rangers return, with his current job in Saudi Arabia with Al Ettifaq. It’ll be a different Rangers to the one he left though, with fans worried about widening bank balances. Robinson told Football Insider: “They always say never go back, don’t they?.

“And with Steven, think the legacy that he left, I think he did a great job there, I really do. I think there would be an opportunity there for him to go back, it would be a brilliant hire and the fans would love it, but I think it would be a very different Rangers to the one he took over.

“The squad is obviously very different under Clement, regardless of how you get on against everyone else, it’s how far you fall behind the boys across the city. Missing out on the Champions League, their performances against Celtic, yes they got beat 3-0 but they were still in the game.

“Brendan Rodgers’ record in Old Firm derbies is great, and I think that’s where they’re going to get judged. At the moment, Rangers’ forward players are not as good as Celtic’s forward players and I think that’s where they’re falling behind. You look at what they’ve spent over the last year, you compare what they’ve spent to what Celtic have spent, you compare the two bank balances, the gap is widening.

“That’s worrying for Rangers fans. When Clement first came in, they went on that unbeaten run of wins and I think he did a really good job. I think to an extent his hands have been tied with the players that he has lost off the field and his style of play.

“There is a bit of a disjointed feeling among the club and supporters at the moment, playing at Hampden Park hasn’t really worked out for them, thankfully they’re back at Ibrox. All of their Europa League games will be at Ibrox which is huge for the supporters. I think it’s a little bit early to talk about his job, but I think the next Old Firm is key.”

10 Greatest Players From Yorkshire in Football History [Ranked]

Yorkshire is an English county that takes great pride in producing athletes of the highest level. Elite sports stars such as the Brownlee brothers, Nicola Adams and Jonny Bairstow are all household names in their respective fields.

The footballing world is no exception and has proved another sporting stomping ground for those who hail from ‘God’s Own County’. The English top flight in particular has been graced by a plethora of Yorkshire-born stars over the years, as well as the England national team and, on occasion, the national teams of other countries. From a World Cup winner such as Gordon Banks to Premier League legends Kyle Walker and John Stones, here are the 10 greatest Yorkshire-born football stars in history.

Barnsley-born Mick McCarthy is one of just two entrants on this list to play internationally for a country other than England – in his case, he represented the Republic of Ireland on 57 occasions, being eligible through his father, and was eventually named captain.

McCarthy is perhaps better known now for his managerial exploits, having taken the reins at Sunderland, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town – as well as two stints in charge of the Republic of Ireland national team – since retiring in 1992.

The former central defender spent the first part of his career with his boyhood club, Barnsley, before eventually leaving for Manchester City in 1983, helping them win promotion to the top flight before moving on again to Celtic, where he would lift the Scottish Premiership title and two Scottish Cups in his two seasons in Glasgow.

Mick McCarthy’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

505

International Caps

57

Honours

Leeds United club legend David Batty is arguably one of the finest midfielders Yorkshire has ever produced. Goals were something of a collector’s item for Batty – he scored just eight times across his career – but what he brought to the table in abundance was ferocity and bite in the centre of the park, acting as a platform for his more offensively minded team-mates to build upon.

His ball-winning and distribution skills helped the Whites lift the final First Division title in the 1991/92 season and eventually led to first Blackburn Rovers and then Newcastle United signing him in their own pursuit of glory. He returned to Elland Road in 1999, after six years away, and went on to break into the top 20 for all-time appearances at his boyhood club before retiring in 2004.

David Batty’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

438

International Caps

42

Honours

65

Very few footballers have had a career quite like Jamie Vardy‘s. The Sheffield-born striker came through the ranks at Sheffield Wednesday‘s academy but failed to earn a professional contract and was released, joining semi-professional eighth-tier side Stocksbridge Park Steels.

From there, however, Vardy embarked on the most unlikely meteoric rise. After spending a season each at Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town – both outside England’s top four professional divisions at that time – he was picked up in 2012 by then-Championship side Leicester City. Promotion to the Premier League followed, which already represented an incredible turnaround for a player who had spent the majority of his career at semi-professional sides.

But more was still to come. After an unremarkable first season in the top flight, Vardy spearheaded perhaps the greatest sporting upset in history as the Foxes lifted the Premier League title in the 2015-16 campaign, finishing as the division’s second-highest scorer with 24 goals and breaking the record for scoring in the most consecutive Premier League games in the process, netting in 11 league matches in a row.

There are more decorated players in football history, but the scale of Vardy’s accomplishments, considering where he began, cannot be understated.

Jamie Vardy’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

568

International Caps

26

Honours

8

The second Leeds-born player on this list, James Milner‘s standout attribute is his remarkable longevity at the very highest level. The midfielder turned out for Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Liverpool before joining his current side, Brighton and Hove Albion. In that time, he has made a whopping 637 Premier League appearances – only Gareth Barry (653) has managed more in the division’s history and you would not bet against Milner overtaking him outright by the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

In addition to that, Milner has also recorded the ninth-most assists in Premier League history, with 89. That is nine more than David Beckham and, should Milner manage six more before he calls time on his career, he would rank above Steven Gerrard, David Silva and Dennis Bergkamp, too.

A quick glance at Milner’s trophy cabinet is rather telling, too. Three Premier League titles, two FA Cups and two League Cups, two Community Shield, a Champions League, a FIFA Club World Cup and a UEFA Super Cup. A truly exceptional career.

James Milner’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

643

International Caps

61

Honours

13

Joining Vardy as a Sheffield representative is Kyle Walker. The right-back, 34, broke into Tottenham‘s first team in the 2011/12 season and his impressive performances earned him a big-money move to Manchester City, where he has hoovered up a sizeable share of silverware.

Six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, two Community Shields, a Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup is an outstanding haul for a player whose speed and physicality often overshadow his adaptability, learning to make himself integral to Pep Guardiola’s lofty and specific demands over the last seven years at the Etihad Stadium.

A terrific one-on-one defender, Walker has also racked up 90 England caps – only 10 players have managed more. He is the most-capped player on this list and has played a significant part in the Three Lions’ recent improvement at major tournaments under the guidance of former England manager Gareth Southgate.

Kyle Walker’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

453

International Caps

90

Honours

18

John Stones is the second entrant on this list to hail from Barnsley – and also the second-youngest player in our top 10. Everton were convinced to snap the defender up from his boyhood club in January 2013 and he impressed sufficiently on Merseyside to catch the eye of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, who sanctioned a big-money move for Stones in the summer of 2016.

Many of Yorkshire’s finest footballers are recognised more for their grit, power and determination than their fancy footwork, but Stones breaks the mould despite being a centre-half. His superb technical skills have proved invaluable to City’s possession-based approach under Guardiola and were especially useful in clinching the club’s first treble in 2023, with Stones spending plenty of time in a midfield role. In fact, Stones completed all six of his attempted dribbles in the Champions League final against Internazionale that year, the most at that stage of the tournament since Lionel Messi in 2015. Not bad for a Barnsley lad.

John Stones’ Career Stats

Club Appearances

262

International Caps

81

Honours

15

Legendary goalkeeper David Seaman is best known for his 13-year spell with Arsenal, but he actually hails from Rotherham. Seaman was certainly an eye-catching figure, both for his stunning saves as well as his trademark ponytail and moustache.

Only five players in Arsenal’s history have made more appearances for the club than Seaman’s 564, across which he won three league titles, four FA Cups and a League Cup – among others. But despite all that success, it is the individual moments of brilliance for which Seaman is best remembered – particularly his mind-boggling save in the 2003 FA Cup semi-finals against Sheffield United that is widely considered one of the best saves of all time.

David Seaman’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

731

International Caps

75

Honours

12

Few would have guessed that Doncaster-born Kevin Keegan, who began his career at Fourth Division Scunthorpe United, would go on to scale the dizzying heights he did. Keegan enjoyed a dazzlingly successful six years at Liverpool, winning nine trophies in that time, including three league titles, an FA Cup and a European Cup. It was, however, at his next club, German outfit Hamburger SV that he would be crowned the best in the world, winning the Ballon d’Or in both 1978 and 1979. He remains one of only 10 players in history to collect the accolade more than once and the only Englishman to do so.

Keegan also captained England on 31 occasions and retired with 63 caps and 21 goals for his country – though the Three Lions did not enjoy a great deal of success despite his presence in the side.

Kevin Keegan’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

592

International Caps

63

Honours

14

Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland was famously born in Leeds, with his father – Alf-Inge Haaland – playing for Leeds at the time. He may be a Norway international, but he was born in Yorkshire. Haaland’s sensational goalscoring exploits since arriving in the Premier League from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 need no embellishment.

At the age of just 24 and with barely more than two seasons of English top flight football under his belt, he has already broken the record for most goals in a Premier League season (36), most goals in all competitions in a season by a Premier League player (52), and is the fastest player to 50 goals in the division’s history (48 games). He even ranks fourth for Premier League hat-tricks (eight) despite playing just 69 games in the competition so far. It must be something in the Yorkshire water.

Erling Haaland’s Career Stats

Club Appearances

225

International Caps

35

Honours

9

As spectacular as Haaland’s young career has been – and will undoubtedly continue to be – top spot is reserved for the legendary Gordon Banks, who was born in Sheffield in 1937. Banks is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers to ever have lived, despite spending the majority of his club career with Leicester and Stoke City, rather than clubs consistently competing for the highest honours. His club trophy haul of just two League Cups is a result of that – but it speaks to his quality that he is still revered so greatly.

And with England, he got the chance to prove he belongs with the very best, playing a crucial role as the Three Lions lifted the World Cup on home soil in 1966 – still their only major trophy – and even helping them get as far as third place in the subsequent European Championships. Banks is one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and, in our view, Yorkshire’s greatest ever player.

Gordon Banks’ Career Stats

Club Appearances

558

International Caps

73

Honours

3

“It is his absolute dream,” Rodgers on Luke McCowan first Paradise goal

Brendan Rodgers was delighted for fellow Celtic supporter Luke McCowan who came off the bench for Celtic this afternoon to score Celtic’s second goal of the match to wrap up the three points.  

Speaking at his post match media conference the Celtic manager understood the significance of the moment for the £1m signing on transfer deadline day.

“It’s great. Any player playing for their boyhood team and to come on and he is still adapting a lot to the speed and tempo of the game,” the Celtic manager said.

“He will never lay down whether he starts the game or comes into the game and I think for a young guy who is a Celtic supporter, it is his absolute dream to be here, you can sense it in him every single day.

“To then actually score at Celtic Park and get that feeling from the supporters is brilliant for him. The supporters recognise it as well. I am so happy for him,” Brendan said.

1-0 Engels pic.twitter.com/nXe1JIQA5m

— Celtic Goals (@celticgoalsreal) September 14, 2024

Steven Naismith rues game-changing Celtic award but issues ‘month of games’ target

Hearts manager hoping fortune turns in coming weeks

Steven Naismith has promised Hearts will “grind through” a testing period as he lamented an inconsistent interpretation of the rules in his side’s 2-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead.

The defeat – Hearts’ fourth in a row in the league – has planted the Tynecastle side at the foot of the Premiership table. They head to St Mirren next weekend where it won’t get any easier. Naismith was frustrated by seeing a penalty award taken away from Hearts in the first half, after the ball had struck Liam Scales on the arm after a Lawrence Shankland header. Referee Colin Steven overturned his own decision following a VAR check.

It went from bad to worse for Hearts in the second half when a penalty, initially not given, saw the hosts go in front, with £11 million buy Arne Engels scoring on his full debut. The award was for a handball against left back James Penrice from Nicolas Kuhn’s cross. Naismith argued that neither awards were penalties and the referee had got it right in the first instance but wrong in the second.

Manager Steven Naismith greets Lawrence Shankland after taking the skipper off in Hearts’ 2-0 defeat to Celtic (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

“I don’t think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines in terms of the distance between the players,” he said. “But I also don’t think theirs is a penalty.

“It’s down to opinion, but the images we were shown before the season, it’s all down to distance. It hits his arm, but for me there’s nothing he can do. The motion is the one that we were shown in pre-season. So I disagree with that and that’s a big moment in the game.

“We probably were a wee bit better in possession in the second half,” he said. “We believed a bit more and the crowd were getting frustrated. But when that goes in it changes it. And then the second goal comes when we open the game up a bit and there’s a bit more space.”

Returning to the penalties, he added: “What the interpretation has been is there are times the ball hits somebody’s hand and there’s nothing they can do.

“We accept that,” he added. “I just feel that both of them are in the same ballpark. I don’t think the distance between James and the ball is great enough that he can get his hand out the way.”

He is confident Hearts can start moving up the table. “We’ve now got a month of games before the international break and we need to win games,” he said. “But from what I’ve seen today, I think we’ll start picking up points.”

Celtic Face Saturday Night Backlash After Hearts Coverage

Celtic TV’s live coverage of the Hearts game on Saturday left many international fans frustrated, as technical issues plagued the broadcast.

For fans outside the UK and Ireland, Celtic TV is the only legitimate platform to watch live matches. The club recently rolled out a new and improved version of the service, finally upgrading from a 720 resolution feed to 1080hd —a long-awaited change. However, the new-look service didn’t live up to expectations during the Hearts game.

Many fans were treated to this image instead of the game at points on Saturday afternoon.

Many subscribers reported problems with the stream glitching throughout the match, with some viewers losing the feed entirely for over 30 minutes. Social media was awash with fans upset and venting at the poor coverage.

These issues, occurring during a highly anticipated game, were simply unacceptable for many fans, particularly given the reliance on the platform for live match coverage. With Celtic claiming to position themselves as a global brand, the failure to deliver a reliable service abroad is a major issue.

The persistent problems not only frustrate loyal supporters but also risk pushing them towards illegal streams, which often offer a smoother viewing experience.

As the only official source for live Celtic home games abroad, the club must address these concerns seriously. More technical failures like those seen on Saturday will likely turn subscribers away, leading to a further erosion of trust in Celtic TV’s service.

If Celtic are serious about building their international fanbase, significant improvements in the reliability of their streaming platform are essential. Fans abroad expect, and deserve, a seamless experience when tuning in to watch their team.

Celtic ran out 2-0 winners against Hearts, goals from Arne Engels and Luke McCowan saw the three points stay in Glasgow.

Now that Celtic have taken care of Hearts all attention turns to the Bhoys’ match against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The reigning Slovakian champions visit Glasgow on matchday one of the revamped tournament and will be underdogs against Brendan Rodgers’ side.

That’s not to say they won’t provide a threat. Coming through four rounds of qualifying during the summer, it’s clear that they know how to compete at a European level.

Preparations haven’t been great for their trip, however, with manager Vladimir Weiss Sr unable to be on the bench for their last two matches in the cup and league due to illness, as confirmed by the club’s official website.

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After missing a midweek win against AC Nitra, he was again absent for Saturday night’s match away to Dunajska Streda.

It has been reported by Slovakian media that he’s suffering from flu and doesn’t want it spreading through his squad.

Slovan Bratislava assistant oversees Saturday night win

Assistant coach Boris Kitka was the man in charge at the MOL Arena as they picked up a 2-1 Superliga win.

Dunajska Streda took the lead in the match after a Guram Kashia own goal before in-form winger Tigran Barseghyan netted an equaliser.

The Armenian international then scored a dramatic 90th-minute penalty to secure the three points and give his team a morale boost ahead of travelling to Scotland.

Remarkably, the home side then had the chance to draw from the penalty spot in injury time but Matej Trusa couldn’t convert.

Barseghyan has been Bratislava’s star man this season and now has eight goals from 12 matches in all competitions.

Slovakians are making history with Celtic Park appearance

It’s unclear whether Weiss Sr will be able to make the trip to Scotland to face Celtic or whether he will miss out again with illness.

It’s not an ideal situation for his club to be in for such an important fixture, though his health is obviously the most important thing.

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This is Slovan Bratislava’s first-ever appearance in the group stage of the Champions League and they’ve worked hard to make it with qualifying wins over the champions of North Macedonia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Denmark.

They’ll be relishing the chance to continue their dream run in Scotland and nothing can be taken for granted. We need the Bhoys on top form to get off to a flyer.

Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo was one of the team’s standouts in the recent derby win so some were surprised not to see him in the starting eleven against Hearts on Saturday.

The Portugal U21 captain was named on the bench with new signing Arne Engels taking his spot in the team, to great effect.

Brendan Rodgers’ decision ended up fully justified after Engels produced a man-of-the-match calibre performance and scored his first goal after bravely putting himself forward to take a penalty.

Bernardo did get minutes, coming on after 66 minutes in place of Reo Hatate to help the Bhoys push towards a 2-0 victory.

Brendan Rodgers addresses his Celtic team selection vs Hearts

After the match, asked if it was a tough decision to leave the Portuguese out after the way he played against Rangers, Rodgers stated [Celtic Way]: “I have to prepare the team for the season. It’s no good having a strong squad and then not using the players. I like to make minimal changes, but I will still make changes.

“I felt that it was important for Engels to come in and get that feeling playing in the team, trying to understand some of the patterns, because then we can look at and analyse the game with him for areas he can be better in.

“I want to build a team here that has power, speed and unpredictability. He certainly gives us that on a European level.

“He’s come in and played in the top 5 leagues in Europe and played very well in that. That’s a player that we need, and we’re very happy that he’s chosen to come here.

“I wanted to get him in – Paulo’s been brilliant, so I’m happy he’s here. There are other players waiting in the wings too to get game time. It’s such a long season, and they’ll get that.”

Paulo Bernardo will play an important role for Celtic

Engels also returned to Bhoys training from international duty earlier in the week than Bernardo, so it made sense to give him the nod.

Rodgers is spot on with his comments here and hopefully as the season progresses there’s more understanding that this isn’t an issue that really needs to be justified by the manager.

Bernardo is going to get plenty of game time at Celtic and there’s a strong chance he starts against Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday. That wouldn’t be a surprise at all.

It’s a blessing to have two young talents vying for one position in the team and we might even see one of them preferred to Reo Hatate on occasion. Bernardo has no reason to be concerned, he’ll be an important cog in the machine this term.

Rotation is natural and needed. As long as it’s in service to the team and overall performance then there can be no complaints.

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Why Rodgers was happy about a ‘special moment’ vs Hearts

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers ahead of the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Saturday September 14, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Celtic. Photo credit should read: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Use (Image: Andrew Milligan)

Everything that Brendan Rodgers said to Celtic TV after the 2-0 Scottish Premiership win over Hearts…

It felt like a more hard-fought win than perhaps some of them so far, but are you proud of the endeavours of the players today?

Yes. I think on the back of an international break you always hope that the players will come back and show up. I thought there were a lot of moments in the game where we were really good. Hearts came to make it really difficult and they worked very hard. There was good physicality in the team and if we had scored the goal earlier then it might have been different. We had a few chances, Arne (Engels) got in and flashed it over, he also hit the post and we had a great chance with Kyogo (Furhashi). If we had got that goal in the first 20 minutes it would have opened the game up for us. We didn’t quite manage to do that. I still thought we looked lively and creative and Craig Gordon made a couple of good saves as well. In these games, you have got to show up and the players showed up very well. They kept pushing and they got the penalty and then we got the second goal and unfortunately, the third goal was ruled out for offside. Overall, it was very pleasing and I believe the players have broken a record as well which is always nice.

This record stretches back to 1906 and it is the best start to a season since then with five wins in the opening five matches and five clean sheets. You will take as much pride from that as the goals, won’t you?

Yes. I said to the players beforehand our objective is to win but if there is a record there then we might as well go for it and try and push and get it. The players had that extra added bit of mentality to their game and I think you could see that. The pressing was excellent and doubling up and restricting them to not so many opportunities. They went right to the end and guys who had travelled a long way kept running and kept fighting to the end to keep that clean sheet mentality. That is important in any top team and the players demonstrated that.

You have mentioned in the past that playing for Celtic brings its own pressure as there is an expectancy to win. Early in the second half when there are no goals and you get a penalty kick. A young man then confidently steps up and scores. That is quite the thing to do, isn’t it?

Yes, absolutely. It was a really cool finish from Arne. We needed one way or another to break through and get the goal and he showed great composure to be able to do that. I was really pleased for Arne as he was excellent in the game. He showed good running and good physicality and he finished it with aplomb.

The impact of your substitutes came to the fore again as Luke McCowan scored his first goal for Celtic with the second one and it was very important, Adam Idah has come on and unfortunately had a goal disallowed. However, you will be pleased to see the squad doing exactly what you need from them, won’t you?

Yes. It is what we need as we are going into a very busy period now over these coming months. We needed to give those guys some minutes in their legs and to come in and contribute even more so. It’s such a special moment for Luke. He is a Celtic supporter and to score in the game and to have that feeling from the crowd. We all saw the joy that he had for himself by becoming a Celtic player and he felt that in the whole stadium when he got his goal. It was a special moment for him and it was a really good finish against Craig Gordon who is a top goalkeeper.

The attention will now turn to Matchday One of the Champions League and assuming there is very little needed in terms of motivation for the players. What will that look like given the travelling some of them have done and the intense match they faced today?

We will just recover now and put a plan in place for Wednesday. I am so excited by that. Today was important to get off to a good start this week as we are playing in three competitions so it was important to get the victory. Everybody remembers a year ago when we lost 2-0 to Hearts and it wasn’t very nice and it didn’t feel good. Now you see where the team is at as they have a mentality that is really strong and everyone is contributing. It was a really good result.

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Rodgers ready to take the game to Bratislava as Celtic look to make a flying start in Europe

Brendan Rodgers is confident Celtic can make an impact in this year’s Champions League — and has vowed to go all guns blazing against Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday night.

Celtic made it five wins from five at the start of the new season courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Hearts at Parkhead yesterday afternoon.

Signed for a club record fee of £11million last month, Belgian midfielder Arne Engels marked his first start for his new club with a goal, with fellow new recruit Luke McCowan sealing the three points late in the game.

Rodgers now turns his attention to a meeting with Bratislava in Glasgow on Wednesday night, with fans keen to see the team make more of an impression on the Champions League.

Celtic could only muster four points in the Champions League last season and eventually finished bottom of their group. But with a squad now tooled-up with some big-money signings, Rodgers insists Celtic will go on the attack.

Asked about a return to Champions League duty, he said: ‘Yes, I’m excited by it. We’ve got good balance in the squad.

Brendan Rodgers gives fans the thumbs up after Celtic beat Hearts on league duty

New arrival Arne Engels celebrates after netting his first goal for Celtic from the penalty spot

‘We’ve got areas, of course, that I would want to improve later on. But we’ve done a hell of a lot of work and real, real good work over the course of the summer.

‘We go into it in a real positive place. The mindset is strong. We’re ready to attack.

‘We know the level that we’re playing at, but it’s OK. We will go and we’ll give it everything. We want to make a really positive start on Wednesday and we’re looking forward to it.

‘Managing Celtic or playing for Celtic, people say it’s easy. It’s not easy. It’s certainly not, because of the demand, the expectation, the mentality that you need to succeed.

‘Thankfully, we have a winning culture. But it (the challenge) was to make the next step. And the next step is probably Europe.

‘At the very highest level, it was a real, real challenge for us. For so many good managers before me, it’s been a challenge.

‘But we’re hoping now that with a strong squad, with improvements still to make, in our play, that we can go and really attack it.’

Rodgers was impressed by the performance from Engels, who only turned 21 during the recent international break.

Insisting there is much more to come from the young Belgian, the Celtic boss said: ‘He’s going to be a really good player for us.

‘He’s tall, he’s athletic, he can run, his touch is good. He’s aggressive, he presses, he counter-presses. I really like him, that’s why we brought him here.

‘And at 21 years of age, he’s only going to improve.’

Luke McCowan, who joined from Dundee on deadline day, bends in his first Celtic goal

While Kasper Schmeichel made it five Premiership clean sheets in a row for the club

Meanwhile, Hearts boss Steven Naismith bemoaned some of the refereeing decisions and the use of VAR — insisting that it went against both teams at times.

Celtic were awarded a penalty following a handball against James Penrice, whilst Hearts had a penalty ruled out after Liam Scales also seemed to have handled the ball.

Referee Colin Steven initially gave the decision against Scales, only to then overturn it following a lengthy VAR check.

‘I don’t think our penalty is a penalty in the guidelines in terms of the distance between the players,’ said Naismith, whose side have now lost seven on the spin. ‘But I also don’t think theirs is a penalty.

‘It hits his arm, but for me there’s nothing he can do. So I disagree with that and that’s a big moment in the game.

‘We’ve got a young squad, but I’ve seen enough positives through this season to know that that we will come strong.’