Celtic fans continue to grow frustrated as Brendan Rodgers continues to back Mikael Lustig even after his red card.
It is fair to say that Mikael Lustig is not the most popular figure at Celtic Park, although manager Brendan Rodgers seems to disagree with the majority of supporters who criticise him.
The Swedish full back is coming off the back of a red card against Aberdeen at the weekend, in an incident that could have wound up costing the league leaders.
“It was just unfortunate for Mika that he got sent off at Pittodrie,” Rodgers told The Scotsman.
“He is a great servant for me. He has put himself out there since I came to Celtic. He struggled with injuries earlier but since I’ve come in, the game time he has played for me has been fantastic.”
While it is certainly all well and good sticking by your players in tough times, he also needs to listen to the fans once in a while. Thankfully in the league Celtic have been able to ease towards several victories with Lustig being featured in the first team, but that is not what this is about.
If Rodgers wants to help this club grow to the point where they can excel in European competitions, these kind of decisions are going to be important. Lustig may have been a part of the club since 2012, and he has certainly had his moments, but it seems as if he cannot work well within the current setup.
When going forward he can be useful from time to time, but his defensive work has been extremely poor as of late – especially when put under pressure from corners.
Rodgers needs to listen to the voice of reason, and at this stage, that voice is the Celtic Park faithful. If he continues to block them out, their overall opinion of him as a manager could suffer in the months to come.
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