Celtic boss 'not overly surprised' by St Johnstone defeat as Rodgers learns key 'expectations' lesson about his players

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits he’s learned a lot about how his players deal with expectations after watching his side slump to a surprise 1-0 defeat against rock-bottom St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

The Hoops were denied the chance to secure a fourth successive Premiership title next weekend after failing to break down a stubborn Saints defensive display in the Perth sunshine on Sunday.

The reigning champions knew a win would allow them the opportunity to clinch the silverware in front of their own fans against Kilmarnock next Saturday after closest challengers Rangers lost 2-0 at home to Hibs 24 hours earlier. But a thumping early Daniels Balodis’ header from a free-kick was enough to revive the basement side’s slim survival hopes.

“Both were very, very disappointing,” a frustrated Rodgers said when asked for his assessment on the result and performance of his side. “Listen, I want to give the credit to St Johnstone because I thought from the first minute their fight was better than ours. They’re obviously desperate for the points, we should be desperate for the points, but they made it really difficult for us.

“We just started off too soft at the beginning. Obviously, we had chances, lots of pressure, lots of really good moments but we were really, really disappointing.

“No (it doesn’t surprise me). It shouldn’t. We got three sides of the ground today all expectant, but I think what it’s telling me over the course of this season, especially this part of the season, is that expectation vs the underdog... and the players that can cope with that here at a club like Celtic.

“It’s easy when you’re the underdog playing in Champions League games, you’re fighting and running. Playing at Celtic is about being able to deal with both and how we’ve started games over this last little period hasn’t been good enough. But that tells me something as a coach, so I’m not overly surprised.”

Quizzed on how he will rectify that issue, Rodgers replied: “Well that’s something we’ll take away and analyse. The players have been fantastic up until this point of the season. But when you’re presented with an opportunity like that, you have to get out of your comfort zone and really show that you have that will and that want right from the first whistle to get the points.

“And it was only when we went behind that that came about. So I’ll analyse the game again, but it won’t differ to much from what I’m thinking now and what I’ve seen in a number of games.

Read more: Celtic player ratings vs St Johnstone: A series of below-par 6/10s as Hoops' title party postponed after shock loss