Celtic defender Liam Scales admits it hurt to hear manager Brendan Rodgers claim he was unsurprised by their poor performance in defeat by Hearts.
The Irishman believes he and his team-mates will be stung into action by Rodgers’ assessment when they host Livingston on Saturday.
It was a first domestic defeat at Celtic Park for almost three years but a second consecutive loss in the cinch Premiership – the first time the champions have lost back-to-back league games in more than a decade.
Celtic had already drawn at home to St Johnstone and Motherwell this season and Rodgers had revealed he was the angriest he had ever been as a manager when his side trailed in Perth weeks earlier.
Scales was among a small group of players Rodgers absolved of blame following Celtic’s 2-0 defeat by Hearts but he believes the assessment will spark them out of complacency.
Scales said: “I can see where he’s coming from. It’s not nice to hear but obviously performances haven’t been where they should probably be. He makes a good point.
“It does hurt as a player to hear that. We need to change that and not let that be the case again.
“We feel like sometimes we expect it to just happen. Just playing at home or against teams in the league, just expecting it to happen without going out and taking it by the horns and being aggressive and going and winning.
“We can’t just show up and that’s maybe where we need to brush up.”
Defeats by Kilmarnock and Hearts have seen Celtic’s lead at the top of the table cut to two points.
Rangers have a game in hand and are unbeaten in 15 matches under Philippe Clement with the Viaplay Cup also back at Ibrox for the first time in 13 seasons.
Celtic fans are concerned about their team’s form, especially with a game against Rangers to come on December 30 before Rodgers has the chance to strengthen his squad.
However, Scales is confident they will get back to their best quickly.
“It’s been a tough week getting to grips with it,” said the Republic of Ireland international as the club announced the Celtic FC Foundation’s Christmas Appeal had raised £397,000 for charities in Scotland and Ireland.
“We’re getting over it and we know we need to bounce back. We are working hard to do that. We’ve had a week to prepare which is unusual with the schedule we have. We’ve been using the week well to go over things and fine-tune things for the upcoming games.
“We know it’s not good enough for Celtic. The pressure is there and you know you need to win games and anything but a win isn’t good enough. Over the course of a season it’s not disastrous, if we bounce back and do well it should be fine. But it’s been a tough week and we just need to fix it now.
“It’s in our hands to turn it around. It’s a minor blip in the course of the season and we need to turn the corner and get over it. It’s not a complete disaster.”
Dortmund have flown under the radar to reach Champions League final, says Terzic
Borussia Dortmund have benefited from going under the radar during their "unbelievable road" to the Champions League final, according to head coach Edin Terzic.
The Black and Yellow will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the showpiece on June 1, following a hard-earned 2-0 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain in the last four.
Dortmund came into this season on the back of a bitter Bundesliga title loss on the final matchday of the previous campaign, with a 2-2 draw against Mainz handing the title to Bayern on goal difference.
While Terzic's side have been unable to launch a genuine challenge on the domestic front this term - currently occupying fifth place and 24 points adrift of newly crowned champions Bayer Leverkusen - it has been a different story in Europe.
"There is always a team that no one has on their radar that reaches the quarter-finals or the semi-finals," he said. "We wanted to be the team that were not necessarily on anyone's radar. That road has been unbelievable."
Indeed, it has. Dortmund began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat at PSG and goalless draw at home to Milan, but recovered to top Group F before seeing off PSV and Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively.
The 1997 Champions League winners then produced a defensive masterclass across both legs of their semi-final with PSG, to reach their first final since 2013.
"After the second matchday, almost no one believed in us any more," said captain Emre Can, who made his 50th Champions League appearance during the second leg at Parc des Princes.
"We only had one point after two matches, but we kept believing and that was the most important thing. Keeping two clean sheets in two matches against PSG is no mean feat."
Mbappe admits 'I didn't do enough' following PSG's Champions League exit
Kylian Mbappe shouldered the blame for Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, which saw them exit the Champions League semi-finals 2-0 on aggregate.
Mbappe, who is set to leave PSG at the end of the season, was unable to inspire the Ligue 1 champions as they fell short in their latest quest to land the European crown.
The France captain registered a game-high three shots on target and 12 touches in the opposition box during the second leg at Parc des Princes, but his tally of just 51 touches overall was the second-lowest recorded by any PSG player.
And the 25-year-old admitted he should have made a more significant contribution towards his team's cause.
"I tried to help my team as best as I could, but I didn't do enough," he said. "I'm the guy who should score goals and be decisive. When things are good, I take all the limelight and when they are not, you have to take the shadow.
"That's not a problem. The first one who should have scored tonight was me. That's life, and we have to move on - me and the team."
PSG enjoyed the lion's share of possession (69.5 per cent) during the second leg and registered four times as many shots as their opponents did (30 to seven), hitting the woodwork four times.
"In decisive Champions League matches, when you're not effective in both boxes, it's difficult to get through to the next round," Mbappe added. "Even more so when we're talking about a final.
"We're certainly disappointed, but it's not all doom and gloom. We need to build on that and keep working, because I'm sure we'll get there."
Luis Enrique 'proud' of PSG despite Champions League semi-final exit
Luis Enrique expressed his pride at the efforts of his Paris Saint-Germain side, despite their Champions League exit at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
The Ligue 1 champions were knocked out in the semi-finals on Tuesday after a 2-0 aggregate loss to the Bundesliga giants, having hit the woodwork six times over the two legs - making it a record tally of 14 for the campaign - and managed 31 attempts at Parc des Princes.
PSG missed a golden opportunity to reach their second Champions League final, but it is not all doom and gloom after a season of transition with a new coach.
The Ligue 1 title is already in the bag with three matches remaining, and they have a Coupe de France final showdown with Lyon to come later this month.
"We were not inferior over the two legs, but football rewards those who score - not those who hit the woodwork," Luis Enrique said.
"My goal was to be fighting for all the titles. Tonight I'm proud of my team, of all the players."
PSG have now lost all six legs of their three two-legged Champions League semi-finals, after double defeats against Milan in 1995 and Manchester City in 2021.
The year they reached the final, in 2020, they beat RB Leipzig in a one-off semi-final after COVID-19 disrupted the season, before losing out in the final to Bayern Munich.
This season started with a new coach in Luis Enrique and without Lionel Messi and Neymar, as club president Nasser al-Khelaifi put an emphasis on building a team over individual talents.
While not always brilliant, PSG have looked like an organised outfit and the coach said he was already working on building a team without Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to leave at the end of the campaign.
"The players and coach gave their all," Al-Khelaifi said. "Congratulations to Dortmund, we deserved better. It's a tough game. I'm proud of my team, the youngest in Europe.
"We've reached the semi-finals three times in five years. That's not our objective; it's still the final. That's soccer; you have to accept it and sometimes it's not fair. We'll accept it."
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