Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic losing top spot is nothing to do with

Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic losing top spot is nothing to do with Rangers as champions in control of own destiny

Celtic’s loss of first place, according to Brendan Rodgers, has nothing to do with Rangers but rather with the team.

The Hoops lost a dramatic home match to Kilmarnock to split the spoils at Parkhead, sending them into second place and two points

behind Philippe Clement’s team last weekend. This gave the Light Blues the opportunity to take advantage and take the lead, and they

succeeded in doing so when Mohamed Diomande and captain James Tavernier scored two penalties

to help them defeat St Johnstone 3-0 in Perth.

This weekend, Rangers will play their first game at Tynecastle against the in-form Hearts in an attempt to separate themselves from

but he maintains that they should only concentrate on themselves and that they have no control over what goes on in other parts of the

league. He feels they still have a chance to win the league and the trophies,

as there are 12 games left, including two Old Firm derbies.

Rodgers said: “We are not top of the league because of ourselves and the points we have dropped. But we have to learn from that and

be focused very much on our own performance and that ‘s what the next 12 games will be.

“It’s returning to making sure we put ourselves first. Nothing the Rangers or any other team does is within our control. As I’ve stated

throughout the season, we can only pay attention to how we perform. We still have control

over the results we attain this season. We need to concentrate on it.

“It feels like we’ve probably had eight losses and two draws, but we’ve only had eight wins and two draws. However, there has been a

lot of excellent in the games as well; it’s just that occasionally the performance and the outcome let you down.

You don’t feel good about it.”