Brendan Rodgers rewarded for rotation policy in Celtic thrashing of Aberdeen

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admitted his rotation plan worked as intended after they peaked in a 6-0 Hampden win over Aberdeen.

Rodgers has utilised his squad following the goalless Champions League draw with Atalanta and secured three consecutive victories against Motherwell, Dundee and Aberdeen, scoring 11 goals without reply.

The Celtic manager made six changes for the 2-0 win over Dundee in midweek with wingers Luis Palma and Yang Hyun-jun handed their first league starts of the season.

He made another six changes for the Premier Sports Cup semi-final and Celtic had a freshness that saw them hammer home their superiority by scoring five goals in half an hour either side of half-time.

Recalled wingers Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn delivered four goals between them and the likes of Callum McGregor and Adam Idah were back in action too.

“It’s exactly what we’d hoped we could do,” Rodgers said.

“Sometimes you make changes as a manager and a coach and you might not quite get the performance that you want.

“But you have to do it. We had six fresh players. So if we weren’t brilliant against Dundee for a little period or against Motherwell, you get your rewards (on Saturday).”

With Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor back fit following injury, Rodgers had some big decisions to make in defence. He opted for Alex Valle at left-back and preferred Auston Trusty to Liam Scales in central defence. But those decisions could be different when Celtic host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.

“I’m so pleased for the players because they all have value to me,” Rodgers said.

“You think of Liam Scales, how brilliant he’s been over the course of this last season. But I felt putting in Auston Trusty with his extra bit of speed, especially with Aberdeen, who want to penetrate and go in behind, he can cover that for us.

“And so all the players are getting good game time and all contributing.

“You see Greg Taylor coming on. He can clean up the game for us. Alex was really good. But then we wanted to just get cleaner with our passing and get better control.

“And Greg comes in and does that superbly well. As does Scales. He comes in, settles the game. They’re both very, very important players for us.”

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin picked the same team that started the previous two games, including Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Rangers. But he did not want to make anything out of the contrast.

“I don’t want to use these kinds of excuses,” he said. “Because if you want to be a team like Celtic in this case, you play European games and these cup games. And we have to get used to this environment.

“And that’s the only way to do it, to be there. And now we have to try again and refocus. And don’t try to find excuses.”

It was a painful first defeat for Thelin after 15 wins and one draw as Dons manager, but they have the perfect opportunity to bounce back when they host Dundee on Saturday with the chance to go top of the William Hill Premiership.

“We are strong enough, the team is still strong enough to move on to the next game against Dundee at home,” he said. “And that’s why it’s the same process when you’re winning a game. It’s training by training, game by game, and be humble.

“You have to learn from these situations. And that’s the most important thing, how we move on from this game.

“The togetherness we talked about before when we were winning games, the fans stay with us after the game. They give us energy and put our focus for the next challenge.

“When you’re winning, things can be easy. When you have tough times, that’s the most important, how you act in these situations.”