When preparing Celtic for their Champions League foray last season, Rodgers said he was “in the best place I’ve been” at the club.One year on, it would be a struggle to say the same, even if, on the face of it, things appear fine.Top of the table, no defeats and just one goal conceded – while already holding a nine-point advantage over 11th-placed Rangers – does not exactly scream crisis, but it is a suggestion Rodgers has been forced to bat away of late.A disappointing transfer window, claims of a “cowardly” insider briefing against him and a support regularly staging protests against the club’s powerbrokers has not exactly brought peace to Parkhead.An impressive, albeit routine, rout of Partick Thistle in the League Cup has picked the mood up slightly – in no small part through Sebastian Tounekti’s tremendous start at the club – but unrest in the stands is still ferocious.Though it has been bubbling away for a while, the Champions League exit at the hands of Kairat Almaty – and the manner of it – accelerated concerns.They would have been welcomed, but fresh faces should not have been required to avoid the embarrassing defeat.Two listless legs against the Kazakhs were followed by an utterly forgettable Old Firm derby as the chance to right some wrongs upon their return from the arduous journey was squandered in one of the dreariest meetings with Rangers to date. Fast forward three weeks and Rodgers insists he is seeing “a fluency and rhythm growing” within his side, while former striker Cillian Sheridan told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast that Celtic were “back to their old selves” against Thistle.”We’re building,” the manager said after his side set up a semi-final against Rangers. “It’s hard to go through nine months in the season being hot. With everything going on in the window, it’s taken some time for players to come in. “I can see the fluency and the rhythm of the team growing each day.”
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Are Celtic & Rangers in a fit state for Europa League?
