Matthews: No excuses
The full-back was at fault for Kilmarnock’s opening goal with a sloppy pass that let in Cillian Sheridan for the opening goal of a 2-0 win.
Celtic were a shadow of the side that had pushed Barcelona all the way in the Nou Camp just five days earlier with Matthews refusing to put up any excuses.
“We should be able to recover from a game on Tuesday for one on Saturday,” the former Cardiff defender stated. “We were just very sloppy but we can’t use that as an excuse.
“The manager was disappointed and let us know that. We knew that we were nowhere near our best and he just told us what we already knew.
Obviously we were disappointed with ourselves.
“There was no spark. I don’t know why. It was just one of those days. We were sloppy all through the game.
“I don’t think you can say Killie now have the measure of us though. I think they are a good team and defended very well and were very organised. We could not break them down and hopefully the next time we get back into action we get a better result.”
Matthews added: “If we play like we did against Kilmarnock on Tuesday night then our chances of winning all three competitions would definitely be under threat.
“Tuesday night is now a big game for us, especially after the result on the weekend. We want to show the fans that we are still a top team and we want to win every competition we’re in.
“St Johnstone have already given us a warning of what they can do. That gives us an extra incentive to come out on Tuesday and turn it around and get a win which we wanted anyway — but it’s even more important now after a performance like that.”
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