CELTIC CONFIDENTIAL: Was the shock defeat to St Johnstone the beginning of the end for some at Parkhead?

The only thing which was more perplexing than Celtic’s insipid display at McDiarmid Park on Sunday was the hour which followed it.

Brendan Rodgers certainly didn’t mince his words in his post-match press conference which came after the shock 1-0 defeat to the Premiership’s bottom club, questioning the mentality of his players and claiming too many of them were in a comfort zone.

But it was his introspection when examining his own shortcomings – and his unusual behaviour soon after – which resonated most once the dust began to settle on one of the upsets of the season.

‘I have to look at myself with it as well,’ he said. ‘My intention always is to sprint over the line. And I’ve done that before and I know what it looks like. But I don’t like that side of it in this team.’

Moments later, as journalists scurried back up to the press box to file their reports, eyes were drawn to the sight of the Celtic manager stood on the pitch in deep conversation with the groundsman.

A few minutes later, he was seen pacing up and down the pitch on his own, staring into the middle distance, looking – for all the world – like the loneliest man on earth. There then followed a brief conversation on his mobile phone.

A man who considers every syllable before they pass his lips, Rodgers knew this would be picked up on and analysed. It was certainly the first time anyone present had witnessed it.

Perhaps he was just having a moment at the end of a difficult day, something he’ll shrug off when he next faces the media at the end of this week.

But you could be forgiven for believing that it was more than that. Was Sunday the day when he realised that certain players simply didn’t have the minerals to play for the club? Was it even the moment when he decided for sure that next season will be his last in charge of the club?

While the defeat will have no consequences in terms of the title race, you couldn’t help but think that the manner of it will still prove significant for some individuals.

Rodgers was looking at you – Schlupp and Kuhn – when he called out players  

It doesn’t take a genius to work out who Rodgers might have been talking about when he said that too many of Celtic’s players were ‘looking for an easy’ game in the defeat by St Johnstone.

After a poor first half at McDiarmid Park, he substituted Jeffrey Schlupp and Nicolas Kuhn, each of whom appeared to be in the comfort zone that Rodgers said was no place for any of his Celtic players.

Schlupp had been sloppy in the opening minutes, conceding the free-kick that led to the match-winning goal. Neither did he do enough to prevent Daniels Balodis rising at the front post to glance in his header.

Kuhn had been unable to trouble Drey Wright, a right-winger playing at left-back for St Johnstone. And when an easy chance came his way in the six-yard box, the Celtic player allowed Stephen Duke-McKenna to nick the ball from his toes.

The sudden decline of Kuhn is a subject exercising bemused Celtic supporters, who were thrilled at his exhilarating work earlier in the season, when he looked a certainty to be named Scotland’s player of the year.

As recently as two months ago, the 25-year-old German winger was playing so well against Bayern Munich that it seemed only a matter of time before he became the latest player to earn Celtic a big transfer fee.

That day will surely come, but right now, he has gone off the boil, so much so that he has next to no chance of winning that player of the year award, a bauble that will surely go instead to his tireless team-mate, Daizen Maeda.

Indeed, it will be a surprise if Kuhn starts the league game against Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on Saturday, when Rodgers will expect a reaction. The winger will have to show, if he is a substitute, that he has taken on board the manager’s comments… assuming he is given the chance.

Celtic’s away record is almost as bad as Rangers’ home record!  

Only a little more surprising than Rangers’ awful home record is Celtic’s inability over the last few months to establish any consistency on the road.

For a side coasting to the league title and closing in on a domestic treble, you expect a whole lot more than 11 away points from a possible 24.

Even the best teams suffer the odd defeat here and there, but Brendan Rodgers’ side have won only three of their last eight league games away from Celtic Park.

Since their stalemate with Dundee United at Tannadice in December, their record includes a draw with Dundee at Dens Park and defeats by Rangers at Ibrox, Hibs at Easter Road and St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

By conceding almost as many goals (13) as they have scored (16) in those eight games, they have shown little of the dominance they usually produce both home and away.

It is too late for it to make any difference to this campaign. They still lead Rangers by 13 points in the Premiership table. And they can look forward to a Scottish Cup semi-final, and probably final, at Hampden Park, which has been a home from home for Rodgers.

But failing to reproduce on their travels the kind of intensity that comes more easily at Celtic Park is one of several issues that Rodgers needs to address with next season in mind.

Neil Lennon says Celtic really do need a strong Rangers… 

Celtic need a strong Rangers. Say those words anywhere within a two-mile radius of Parkhead and there’s a strong chance you’ll find yourself fending off a lynch mob.

Yet, that’s the view of club legend Neil Lennon, who revelled in his Old Firm derby jousts as a player and left the club during his first spell as a manager in 2014 whilst the Ibrox outfit were working their way back up through the divisions following financial meltdown.

He felt he needed a new challenge with Celtic cruising their way to title after title at the time and eventually ended up at Bolton Wanderers.

Now back in the game as boss at Championship strugglers Dunfermline Athletic, Lennon looks on from the sidelines at a Premiership campaign that has turned into another procession for his former club and struggles to accept it is good for anyone.

Speaking to YouTube channel SNN Sports, he said: ‘I left in 2014 because we were winning the league by a long, long way. When Ronny Deila came in after me, they actually closed part of the stadium, the top tier, because there were no fans.

‘For all the bravado at times and “we don’t need Rangers”, you probably do. You need that edge.

‘A lot of fans will say “no”, but I always think it is good to have real competition. In my day, as a player, we lost two leagues on the last day of the season and won the other three under Martin O’Neill by a landslide.

‘The beauty of that was that, if Rangers kicked off at 12.30pm and won, we knew we had to win at 3.00pm. You are on edge all the time.

‘Currently, Celtic are so far ahead that they are lacking that edge in the league. Fans will tell you that they are going to win the league and they don’t care, but, sometimes, for the players and the coaches, it is good to have that tightness between them.’

Lennon did jokingly backtrack a little towards the end of the interview, though. ‘To have a strong competitive Rangers? Maybe not so strong.’

… while women’s team manager Sadiku needs a strong win over rivals Rangers  

If Elena Sadiku is to keep alive her fading hopes of leading Celtic to a second consecutive league title, she will have to start by doing what has too often been beyond her as the club’s head coach.

Nine points off the pace in the SWPL table, her fourth-placed team go to Broadwood on Sunday, desperately needing the victory against Rangers that has mostly eluded her since she took the job 15 months ago.

In eight matches against Celtic’s city rivals, Sadiku has presided over just one victory. A 2-1 triumph in Airdrie last March gave them the momentum needed to win the championship on the final day of the season.

That, though, was the exception in a sequence that also includes three draws and four defeats, the most recent by 2-1 in the Sky Sports Cup semi-final at New Douglas Park three months ago.

Sadiku’s team can ill afford another setback this weekend. While the league is the only trophy Celtic have left to play for, Rangers have their eyes on a domestic treble that would serve to underline the balance of power in Glasgow.

After three straight defeats, no wins in four and just one victory in six, questions are being asked of this Celtic team and, more particularly, the coach who guided them into the Champions League this season.

Sadiku has argued that her budget is dwarfed by those of Rangers and Glasgow City and that it is more comparable with those of Hearts and Hibs, although the latter, currently leading the title race, have fared well enough on relatively limited resources.

Sadiku’s team haven’t won the big games lately, be they against Rangers, Glasgow City, Hibs or Hearts. Like it or not, that isn’t good enough for Celtic, regardless of the circumstances. If she is to win over her critics, it has to change, starting at Broadwood on Sunday.