“There’s absolutely no doubt we can make up the points difference,” Brenda Rodgers | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media at Tynecastle after the 3-1 defeat this afternoon left Celtic EIGHT points adrift of Hearts after back-to-back defeats in the Scottish Premiership…

Brendan Rodgers talks to the media after the match. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: If you can just start by telling us your thoughts on the final result in this game?

Brendan Rodgers: “A disappointing result and performance overall, really. Two different styles of play, two teams not creating so much. I still felt at half-time we had the chance to go in at 2-1. We didn’t quite make that, and then we’re disappointed with the two early goals in the second half.

“We’ve got to squeeze the line; it’s the principle of our game, and we can catch probably two or three players offside, but we didn’t move. It becomes a fight, and then we need to show more determination for the shot.

Shambles from Celtic at the second Hearts goal. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“We speak beforehand about the young winger (Kyziridis) who comes in; he likes to shoot. We saw his goal against Falkirk, and we did that well in the first half, but second half, we switched off. So when he came in, we had to have more determination to stop that. The penalty is something we can avoid, and then all of a sudden, we’re chasing the game. But just lacking that bit of quality and creativity in the final third that our Celtic teams normally have, that relentless nature to it. So, in a game where we should take something from, we didn’t play well enough and made some basic mistakes to lose the game.”

Q: Were you surprised by that Brendan, because you’ve spoken about that before after games in the league this season that not quite having that connectivity in the final third, but we saw on Thursday night the team looked like they were heading in the right direction, got back into the game in the first half and it looked like you were back in the team. Were you surprised it didn’t go on from there in the second half?

Brendan Rodgers: “I thought when we got the first goal, we had shown some really good moments, but I also think we gave the ball away a lot as well. We were in good phases of the game, but then we were loose with our passing, and that didn’t allow us to build enough pressure in the final third. So if you can’t do that, then the game becomes a wee bit bitty for us.”

Dane Murray arrives at Tynecaslte. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: It’s a difficult game for young Dane Murray to come into. Will you and your people need to pick him up after his after his mistakes for the own goal and the penalty?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s all about learning. When you’re a young player, Dane’s been in and around it now for a little while, he’s played in some games for us and come into games. So if you want to play for Celtic, these are the challenges that you want to come and perform in, but listen, he’s a good kid, he trains really, really well. We were looking for him to give us the balance. He won some great headers, some really good moments. It was just unfortunate how he started the game. But he kept going, showed his mentality, and he’ll learn from the mistakes.”

Brendan Rodgers arrives at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Brendan, the board’s come in for a fair bit of criticism for not backing you, but you’ve mentioned that you’ve got to try and get something out of the players that you have at your disposal. Do you start to take responsibility for the fact that you can’t get a trick out of them domestically to build momentum?

Brendan Rodgers: “I’ve always taken responsibility. There’s never been a time that I haven’t. So I suggest when you’re saying, you said, ‘Is there a time?’ There’s always a time. When you’re the manager of Celtic, you’re responsible for the results, despite whatever else happens. So that responsibility is on me.”

Q: What are you going to do? What can you do right now to try and get something out of them, because clearly there’s a lack of confidence. You’re playing players like Dane Murray, asking them to come in when you maybe have options on the bench. Auston Trusty is a £6 million-pound player.

Brendan Rodgers: “He’s left-footed. The balance of the centre-halves works better for me when we have the balance of a left-footer and a right-footer at centre-half. So, the price tag never comes into it. It’s about what the team needs.”

Hearts celebrations. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Do you think you could still get them back on track?

Brendan Rodgers:  ‘I think the context of today is obviously disappointing in the game and the result. But there are 29 games left, and if Hearts aren’t at their best today, then of course, if we can find a consistent level of performance, then there’s absolutely no doubt we can make up the points difference. Hearts have made a good start, a really good start in terms of points. Our issues have been well-documented, but we’re working very, very hard with limited time to work on the field to find the solutions. Sometimes we have to do it in the game, playing players. But we’ll continue to work to do that.

Q: Brendan, you say there’s plenty of time left, but how seriously do you have to take Hearts’ title credentials this season?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think when you make a strong start, which they’ve done, they’ve obviously got one game a week, which is a big advantage. And of course, they’ll feel that they can keep themselves up there. But it’s so early. Win, lose or draw the game today, we wouldn’t have been getting carried away with anything. There are so many games, and we’ll continue to focus on trying to maximise what we can get from the players.”

Callum McGregor shakes hands with Brendan Rodgers. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Brendan, you swapped Tounekti for Balikwisha. Was it a temptation to move Tounekti to the right, to keep him on?

Brendan Rodgers:  “No. Never. He’s a left-sided player. He doesn’t play off the right. He doesn’t enjoy playing there, and doesn’t want to play there. He’s a left-sided player.”

Q: Brendan, on the injuries, Daizen Maeda, Alistair Johnston, Kelechi Iheanacho – when would you expect those three to be back?

Brendan Rodgers: “Daizen will join training tomorrow. Alistair and Kelechi are probably not as serious as we first thought, but I’m not sure they’ll make Wednesday. So they’ll definitely be a few weeks.”

Q: Does that mean Daizen’s got a chance for Wednesday if he’s coming in?

Brendan Rodgers: “I don’t know. We have to look at that, and we’ll have to make sure that we introduce him at the right moment. Thankfully, he’s back training.”

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey arrives at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Is Jahmai Simpson-Pusey a player who might feature?

Brendan Rodgers: “Listen, we’ve got so many games, so I’m sure all the players at some point will feature. We look at all the players and find what we think is the right balance.”

Q: Brendan, you talk about the quality. Do you think that this team’s got the hunger and motivation to become champions? The same hunger and motivation they had last season?

Brendan Rodgers: “You always have to believe that, and you always have to have that. At Celtic, you’re brought in here to deal with pressure. And, like I said, some of these players are growing into it. It’s one you have to grow into very quickly. But I have a good bunch of boys that are, they work hard every day. And today, I felt we had a really good opportunity if we played our game and had that courage and belief to play, but we made too many mistakes on and off the ball and didn’t get the result.”

Callum McGregor reacts after the defeat at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Can you coach inconsistency out of a team? Between Sunday, Thursday, and today, there is a big difference in these performances. Can that be coached out of players?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think the third game in the week is a challenge, but we have to fill the players with confidence. There’s not a lot. Obviously, they play today, and recover tomorrow. The second day, Tuesday’s always the day when players feel it more. And then we’ve got the game on Wednesday. So it’s more mental. You’re having to keep the players’ confidence up. You can’t have a toxic positivity either. You’ve got to be clear where the issues are, but then you have to pick the players up, and that’s what we’ve got to do for Wednesday.”

The scoreboard at Tynecastle just before the final whistle. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Brendan, does the noise outside the club, the fans being discontent with the board, does it affect your day-to-day work at all? Does it leak into it, or is it something you can shut out for yourself and the players?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s something that certainly on a day-to-day it doesn’t have any impact. But I think I mentioned it the other day, I’m pretty sure there’ll be plenty of studies around the world done at various universities and wherever that’ll tell you what the impact of that disharmony does. But on a day-to-day basis, we focus on our training, focus on the work on the field and try to maximise what we can get from the players.

Brendan Rodgers after the match. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Brendan, this is the first time you have been in this position in the league. Are you confident of a turnaround?

Brendan Rodgers:  “Absolutely fine. My determination is pretty much there. I’ve never worked harder in all my time here. So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we’re at. It’s absolutely fine. It’s still so early. I think that’s the key point in it all. Hearts have made a fantastic start, got the points on the board. There’s so much football to play, and we just have to hang in there at this moment, find those performances, find the results, and hopefully our levels will improve as the season goes on.”

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Celtic in the Eighties and Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style both by David Potter. Photo The Celtic Star

Danny McGrain signing copies of Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Photo: Celtic Star Books

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