Brendan Rodgers has rekindled Celtic fire as squad without an 'idiot' in it sent clear message

Something's been bugging Brendan Rodgers ever since he returned to Celtic in the summer to begin his second stint in charge.

It may even have taken the manager some time to put his finger on it. Or work out why things weren’t running as smoothly as they did the first time around. Performance levels were wobbling wildly between reasonably decent and wholly unconvincing. Players weren’t responding to his presence the way he probably thought they would. Nor for that matter, was a sizable section of the club’s increasingly splintered support.

And it all culminated in the space of a few calamitous days in December when back-to-back defeats were inflicted upon his side by Kilmarnock and Hearts. At a time when the normally noisy North Curve of Celtic Park was laying dormant - and rivals Rangers were lifting the first silverware of the season. It was round about this crisis point when Rodgers began to ask questions of the hunger and desire inside his own dressing room as well as the lack of togetherness and unity in the background.

Four straight league wins later - including a festive slap down of the neighbours - Celtic’s boss appears to have steered his team past the moment of maximum danger. “I just think it’s being really clear about what the demands are here,” Rodgers said when asked how he has gone about rekindling a fading fire.

“The squad was at a different point when I first came in - and naturally there can be a little dip with players - but I think a big part of it for us were the injuries to a lot of players, those dynamic players that make the football look different.

“But either way, we needed to be better. It’s just a case of keeping patience, and I think that is where your experience comes in. I love working with