Brendan Rodgers has message for Celtic cynics as boss points to 'bigger picture' before 'hit a wall' confession

Brendan Rodgers reckons Celtic hit the wall in Dundee – but they are ready to smash through the next two season defining obstacles.

The Hoops kick-off their Scottish Cup campaign against Kilmarnock this evening before squaring up with Young Boys for a place in the Champions League knock-out stages. Rodgers admitted his men took a dip at Dens in the six goal thriller – but he’s convinced Celtic will back on high again for the huge days on the horizon. The Parkhead boss – who will have Daizen Maeda back fit – said: “Listen, we have to accept criticism.

"But if you look at the bigger picture of what the players are coming off, I think there's also respect in that there comes a point in a season where any team, no matter how good a season you're having, or no matter how bad a season you're having, you'll hit a little bit of a wall. It's natural. It doesn't matter how good you've been playing or not, you're going to hit a little wall. And I felt that probably on Tuesday, on that seventh game in 20 days, was maybe that point.

"We have to accept the criticism, whether we like it or not. When you draw a game or lose a game, it'll sting. But for us, it's all part of being at a big club. You have to accept it, whether you agree with it or not. We have to deal with that and then move on to our next game. And that's what our idea is.

“The players have done really, really well. So we now have a little point where we have that extra day of recovery going into Kilmarnock and then we don't play until Wednesday.

“That allows us to virtually reset again and come out of what was a really, really, really tight, busy, hard schedule. From a physical perspective and a mental perspective, we'll be ready. And if we have to go with team on a