Brendan Rodgers has right to Celtic defence over my gut feeling but 2 missing factors are still on him – Chris Sutton

Brendan Rodgers says he’s never gone through the motions. Fair enough. He has every right to defend himself and his record at Celtic first time around suggested he was right on point then.

But the past only gets you so far. I can only base my comments honestly on gut feeling from what he’s saying, my own instincts and call what I see at this moment in time. And, right now, there’s not enough coming from Rodgers and his team. They’ve been sleepwalking in too many games. Rodgers spoke about a lack of desire and passion after the loss to Hearts. As the manager, that’s on him.

There are certain things outwith the control of a boss during a season and variables you cannot legislate for such as injuries to important players. But one thing a manager can control is the side’s attitude and Rodgers’ admissions last weekend were stark and, if I’m being totally honest, didn’t reflect well on him. He said key traits were missing from the first whistle. So what did he say or not say in the dressing room pre-match for them to start like that?

Now Rodgers is talking about feeling negativity when he first returned. I actually felt he had the backing of most people for having the courage to come back in the first place. Some dissenters, yes. But results get rid of them.

Quite simply, lack of harmony comes when a team is not delivering. The performances on the park for the majority of this season are the cause of the current negativity and disharmony and nothing else.

If that weren’t the case, why not say it earlier? I couldn’t quite understand the depth of vitriol towards the board last weekend.

It’s obvious the quality of those signed has been nowhere near high enough, but, whatever the work done by Mark Lawwell and his recruitment