‘Immune to criticism’ – Tam McManus makes Celtic claim after defeat v Hearts
Tam McManus has claimed that Celtic’s loss to Hearts will act as a “reality check” for some players in the squad.
The Hoops’ long unbeaten run ended in spectacular style at Tynecastle as Hearts crushed the Scottish Premiership leaders 4-0, to end the undefeated streak at 69 games.
The Celts couldn’t cope with the physicality of Hearts and lost a domestic match for the first time since a 2-1 defeat to St Johnstone on May 11th 2016.
As quoted in his column in The Herald, the former Hibs striker believes that the defeat could benefit Brendan Rodgers’ side in the long run.
“It has become like a millstone around the necks of the Celtic players. It has been more a case in recent months of not getting beaten, and, keeping the run going, than actually going out and winning,” he said.
“They have lost that bit of freedom and swagger in their play, plus, it will be a wee bit of a reality check for some of the players who have lost form but been immune to criticism due to being an Invincible.”
The unbeaten run saw the Hoops clinch their first domestic treble since 2001 and their first undefeated league season since the 1890s.
This season performances haven’t been as good yet the Bhoys still retained the Betfred Cup after a 2-0 win over Motherwell and are top of the Scottish Premiership.
The Hoops are currently two points clear of second placed Aberdeen with a game in hand, to be played against bottom of the league Partick Thistle at Celtic Park this Wednesday.
The top two then meet at Celtic Park on Saturday the 23rd of December, in a game which could have huge ramifications in the title race.
In other Celtic news, Chris Sutton has named one Celtic player in his team of the week
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