Brendan Rodgers addresses the emotional Celtic embrace with Reo Hatate as boss explains why he is ready for winter break

Brendan Rodgers wrapped up a storming finale to the festive season in Paisley - then admitted he’s desperate for the winter shutdown.

The Celtic manager has seen his side bounce back from the brink of a full blown crisis in December to end the first half of the campaign by rattling off four successive wins. And that run means they go into the January break with an eight point lead secure at the top of the table. But, as much as Rodgers can feel the momentum beginning to build, he admits he’s ready to put his feet up after spending most of the last month battling against the winter sniffles.

When asked if the season might be placed on pause at the wrong time for his resurgent team he responded: “Probably not. I have had flu and a cold for about a month, it has just been so busy. I think it’s a nice small period now for the players to recover because physically the demands are so much, especially how we want them to play and how intense we want them to be.

“So that will be nice for them to recover and then we will get back and we have loads of time to do a lot of work and be ready for our first cup game.”

Celtic romped to a 3-0 win in Paisley against a St Mirren side which was reduced to ten men before the half-time break when striker Olutoysi Olusanya was dismissed for booting Joe Hart in the face. And the performance satisfied the manager who went on: “I think you can see that the team is getting better and improving.

"Those results against Kilmarnock and Hearts, it was about learning from those. I think you can see the difference in the team and how they are working. And sometimes you need that. To have success you need to have that bit of adversity.

“How the players have responded to that has been fantastic. Their