Top Line Summary

  • Two crucial points dropped
  • Slackness in the passing
  • Lack of aggression with and without the ball
  • More to come from Nicolas Kuhn
  • Not finding the consistency levels required

Everything that Brendan Rodgers said to Sky Sports after Celtic's 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie

How do you assess that in the end?

It was two points dropped. We had chances in the first half and they were good chances and you could see Aberdeen were a little bit nervous in the game. We had to try and exploit that. In the second half, we were loose with our passing. I think the big thing in this type of game is winning the first, second and third balls and being able to cope with direct balls and counter-press well and stop them from breaking. For their goal, we were loose with our pass. They make two passes and the guy has scored a goal. We are disappointed with that. The reaction of the players was good and we threw everything at the game and we looked like we could get the goal. It was good for Nic (Nicolas Kuhn) that he got his first goal. After that, it was all about knocking on the door and seeing if we could make the breakthrough but it didn't quite happen for us. Overall, it is disappointing for us to drop two points.

You said before the game that you needed to be more clinical coming into the game. Was that maybe evident in the first half again?

We got into some very good areas and sadly we couldn't make it count. There were some good bits of play and we couldn't make the finish.

READ MORE: Celtic instant analysis: Kuhn to the rescue after sloppy second half

You mentioned Nicolas (Kuhn) how good was it for him to get that goal and can he kick on now?

He is not here for a few games as he is here for the longer term. He is still getting up to speed having had his break and a bit of illness. He could add that threat for us in behind and also give us that option whether he starts or comes off the bench to get goals. It is good for him to get in and hopefully, we can see many more goals from him.

You mentioned the second half as you dominated the first half and the same thing happened at Kilmarnock where you lost control of the second half. Did you feel that was the same today or did Aberdeen feel their way into the game?

I thought in the second half we were not as aggressive without the ball. When the ball is up and direct there were too many times their striker was comfortable and there was not much contact and he can set the game up from there. They can break through when that happens. Also on the counter-press, you have to have that hunger and be there to win the ball and there were too many times it just broke through them. If you don't have that intensity when you don't have the ball it is difficult to be so aggressive when you do have the ball. It comes hand in hand for us as a team that you need aggression with and without the ball and then you find that you are aggressive when you have it.

What would you say to the Celtic fans who are maybe frustrated with the events of the last week and then spilling two points? Are there still plenty of games to go?

Yes. there are lots of games left. We have to sort it out on the field, That's the reality of it. It is my job as the manager to ensure that we get up to the levels that we need to consistently. We had a good run up until the break and then after that, we had a good cup performance which you would expect. The last couple of performances have not been at the level we want to be at. That is for us to sort out.