Manager: It was a complete performance and I'm very pleased

Celtic F.C.

·08 de fevereiro de 2025

Manager: It was a complete performance and I'm very pleased

It was another blistering display from the Hoops today at Paradise, as Brendan Rodgers’ men cruised by Raith Rovers with a 5-0 victory to advance to the last eight of the Scottish Cup.

The Celtic manager made nine changes to his starting eleven from the team that thumped Dundee 6-0 on Wednesday night, but despite the personnel changes, there was no change in the Celts’ intensity and quality today.

Vídeos OneFootball

And speaking to Celtic TV after today’s match, Brendan expressed his delight at what he said was a very good performance from his side.

“It was a complete performance,” he said. “These games can prove tricky. "Teams come with big motivation from either further down the league or from the league below.

‘I thought our professionalism, concentration and quality in the game was very, very good.’

“I’m very pleased with our performance.”

There were standout performances across the pitch, but the headlines will, once again, belong to Daizen Maeda who grabbed a hat-trick on the day, taking his tally for the season to 21 and his overall tally in the hoops to 50.

And the Celts’ boss was quick to praise the Japanese forward after the match for his performance today and his contributions throughout the season so far.

He added: “Anyone who has done any depth of work on Daizen before he came in here, you’ll see he played as a striker at Yokohama and the various range of goals that he scored

“He might not be your traditional No. 9, but he runs in behind, is mobile, has speed and can make those finishes in the box.

“His three goals today were great. He can score different types of goals.

“He’s been absolutely sensational this season with his work rate. Because it’s not just the 21 goals, it’s everything else he brings to the team. I’m so happy for him.”