Brendan Rodgers tells Celtic shrinking violets to LEAVE if they want to hide from Parkhead pressure

Brendan Rodgers has challenged his under-fire Celtic players to deal with Parkhead pressure - or find another club.

The Hoops boss is up for a title battle with Rangers, who are now five points clear at the top of the Premiership table. Rodgers, whose side take on Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, admits the scrutiny his team are under will be like nothing they’ve faced before. But he’s told them it’s part of the deal in Glasgow and if they can’t handle it, they’re in the wrong city.

After being eight points clear in the title race at the turn of the year, Celtic have slipped up and allowed their Old Firm rivals to take over. They were booed off the pitch after last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Kilmarnock at Parkhead. Rodgers has vowed to stay calm under criticism as the champions look to get back on track - and says his players have to cope with copping flak.

The Celtic gaffer said: “I’ll be fine. For me it’s about 38 games over a season. I’ve heard throughout my career that I’ve never had this before and never had that before.

“That’s normal - but it’s not my story. If you can’t handle pressure, especially at the biggest clubs - those aren’t the clubs for you. Go away, there’s plenty of clubs for you where it’s like a holiday. You play one game a week and there’s no drama.

“If you draw a couple of games and win eight, you’ll be held up there. But with the biggest clubs, that’s part of the deal.

“You have to be able to deal with playing home and away here. In my experience of Celtic Park, it has been an amazing place to play. For players coming here, it’s great when you look on YouTube and see 60,000 fans singing You’ll Never Walk Alone or Champions League nights. But in the small print it says, by the way, there’s big