Brendan Rodgers makes sub revelation over key player involved in Celtic winner as he hints at Willie Collum frustration

Brendan Rodgers applauded the mentality of his side after Matt O’Riley’s thrilling 97th minute winner saw off a Motherwell side who had frustrated Celtic for much of the afternoon.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at full-time after the 2-1 win over Motherwell. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

And the Celtic manager revealed that he had every faith in his side despite Blair Spittal’s 95th minute leveller that had cancelled out Luis Palma’s effort.

“I was here a few years back when we won late on with Tom Rogic,” said Rodgers. “I thought that was probably as close as we’d get to win a game late on. It was a great response by the players. Incredible mentality. I said to them afterwards that this club’s history is built on many late goals. That’s what Celtic does.

“You have to keep going right to the death. That’s what my teams have always done. That’s what Celtic does.

“You still need the players to deliver and play with that calmness. You’ve got to keep believing you’ll get something from the game. We didn’t start lumping it into the box. We just worked our way up the pitch. But you have to have that will and desire to keep going.

“Once they equalised, we stayed calm and waited for that moment. It was a fantastic finish off his [O’Riley’s ]right side. I’m absolutely delighted for the players. They give so much to the game and they deserved the three points.”

Rodgers also revealed that Greg Taylor – who delivered the cross for the winner – wouldn’t have been on the pitch had Celtic had another substitute available to them.

“It was a great cross by Greg,” said the Celtic manager. “He showed immense resilience to stay on because he took a bad whack on his calf. It was a great cross and Matty’s finish. It’s brilliant for the supporters because they see how this team will keep fighting to the end.”

And Rodgers is optimistic that the spirit required to generate such late drama bodes well for this Celtic side.

“It’s the beginnings of any good team, when you have that strength and personality to keep going,” he said. “It’s a trait in any good team or individual player. And the players obviously demonstrated that.”

He did, though, hint at a little frustration with referee Willie Collum’s performance.

“I thought the game was a bit bitty,” he said. “To be fair to Willie… I thought the game was stop-start. It could have flowed better from an official’s perspective but we had to keep concentration and keep working.”