Celtic gaffer's praise for 'beautiful' Hibs support as Treble-chasing Rodgers talks Scottish Cup 'revenge'

Treble-chasing Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has hailed Hibs fans for creating a “beautiful” atmosphere in yesterday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final. And the all-conquering gaffer says the 7000 travelling fans at Celtic Park could be “proud of their team” despite suffering defeat.

David Gray’s men crashed out of the Cup by dint of a 2-0 loss in Glasgow. But they were backed throughout – and applauded after the final whistle – by the largest away crowd Celtic Park has seen since 2018, with fans staying to recognise a team who put together a 15-game unbeaten run before yesterday’s defeat.

Gray and his plays all mentioned the importance of the supporters. And Rodgers, looking forward to the limited return of away fans for the Old Firm game when Rangers visit on Sunday, believes a proper travelling section added to the atmosphere.

The former Liverpool boss said: "I think it's the first step, isn't it? I thought it was a great atmosphere. A beautiful day, the noise was good and that activates our supporters as well.

“Hibs have had a really, really good run. They'll be disappointed to lose, but the supporters can be proud of their team.

“For us, our supporters as well, they can have so much pride in their team because of what they've given to the season. The professionalism, the passion that they're playing with and the hunger to gain results consistently is very impressive.

“I thought the atmosphere was really good. Listen, the game next week is about 2,500 Rangers supporters. Hopefully in time that might grow, but if not, at least we get some allocation of supporters in the away games.”

Rodgers admitted his team were motivated to beat Hibs after their recent loss at Easter Road, saying: “Revenge is a word I never like to use in football. It's just they got the win on the day.

“We had to analyse it and see where we can be better. And we were that - right from the first whistle of the game right to the end. Concentration was really, really good.

“Competitive, aggressive, strong. Win the first balls, second balls, and then we look to play.”

Celtic fresher without Champions League challenges

Celtic’s loss to Hibs at Easter Road came after an emotional Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. Rodgers feels Gray’s men capitalised on that – and that there was a marked difference in yesterday’s game, after a full week of training uninterrupted by midweek challenges.

“What I will say is the energy levels of the players have been unbelievable throughout the season,” he said, pointing out: “Once we had arrived at Hibs a few weeks back, we were coming towards the end of that spell, which the players have been brilliant in. But there's absolutely no doubt that when you can have that period to recover and freshen up physically and mentally, then clearly it does help you.”

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