Worse than Hearts? The most damning stat as Celtic prepare for second place

On October 22 Celtic turned in one of their best domestic performances of the season.

So good that an old chant reappeared among the away support after the final whistle. The old ‘Brendan Rodgers, you have come to lead the green and white’ song was heard, the manager spoke about it, all seemed well in the world after a 4-1 victory at one of the toughest venues in the SPFL.

Despite injury problems the returning manager had only dropped two points, bizarrely at home to St Johnstone in amongst wins at Pittodrie, Ibrox and now Tynecastle. Away from home he had a 100% record.

It appeared that the handover from Ange Postecoglou had been handled masterly, no one could have guessed that Hearts would soon be visiting Celtic Park to hand out a second successive defeat to the hoops that saw then dragged back into a battle for the SPFL title.

Celtic (33) have less points than Hearts (34) over the previous fifteen Scottish Premiership fixtures. pic.twitter.com/apUKIXFqQm

— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) February 4, 2024

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where it went wrong for Celtic and Rodgers but the above detail is reflected in the SPFL Premiership table.

Rodgers has a 100% record in the Glasgow Derby but has dropped points to managerial novices such as Peter Leven, Steven McLean, Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Naismith.

Next up is a return trip to Easter Road, in four previous visits as Celtic boss Rodgers has still to record a win in Leith.

Even though Hibs lost 3-0 at home to St Mirren on Saturday complacency won’t be an issue on Wednesday night as Celtic and Rodgers go on trial in front of the Sky Sports cameras, probably starting the match in second place.