Celtic: Brendan Rodgers won’t ‘bite tongue’ after remarks on fans

Rodgers has spoken to Taylor, whose contract expires at the end of the season, about the situation and his future, praising him as a “dedicated Celt”.

And while the Celtic boss did not retreat from his previous remarks and joked he looked forward to his eventual successor producing “60 games of high intensity football for 95 minutes every week”, he did call for fans to back the team in a busy period.

“I can never say to anyone what to say, what to think, what to sing,” Rodgers added.

“I know what my own personal value is and a lot of it is based around respect.

“But for me, the Celtic support is an amazing support base, what they give the team and how they support the team and how they travel with the team.

“For me, it is just that bigger picture around this period of games in particular, where pitches are a wee bit lumpier than what they normally would be and the game may be a little bit slower than what it can normally be.

“So that is not always the fault of the players, that is just sometimes how it is. But for us, it is that support that can really help the team in what is a really gruelling period for us.”