Baffled Kris Boyd reckons Celtic fans have been “spoiled” in recent seasons after the fallout from the punters singing Kieran Tierney’s name last weekend.
Brendan Rodgers issued a furious defence of Greg Taylor following the win over St Mirren as he accused the Parkhead faithful of “disrespect” after the name of the outgoing Arsenal star was chanted during the Scottish Premiership clash. The reaction from Rodgers has split the support – but miffed Boyd reckons it was the right call to leap to the defence of Scotland international Taylor.
He told The Warm-Up: “I know Brendan Rodgers had a little go at the fans and rightly so, it does frustrate you as a player when you’re out there. You’ve been told (Greg Taylor) to go back and start again and change the point of attack and move it in a different direction to maybe open a door somewhere else for the team, and fans are not happy about it, because Celtic fans have been spoiled the last few years the way they play football. Going back to start again, there’s nothing wrong with that.
“When you look at the context of this week, there is no doubt that Thursday was a hammerblow for the fans, because everybody you spoke to thought they were going to Ibrox to absolutely annihilate Rangers. Some of them going to the game would still have been angry from that result – although they are still having a fantastic season; a cup in the bag, it looks like they are going to get through to at least the play-offs of the Champions League, the league is more or less done as well.
“The result on Thursday would have frustrated a lot of them and there would have been anger there – but sometimes you have just got to be patient. I think Brendan Rodgers is right, the last thing you need is the fans turning on you so early in the game. It is impossible to go out and score early goals in every game. Leaving Celtic Park with a 1-0 or 2-0 would feel like a victory for some teams.”
Asked if he thought it was disrespectful to Taylor for the fans to sing Tierney’s name, Boyd reckons it is more excitement building among the punters rather than a swipe at their current first choice left-back. He responded “Football fans are football fans. Kieran Tierney is an iconic player at Celtic Football Club.
“He came through the ranks and move on for – at that time – the highest transfer record out of Scotland. He was Mr Celtic. With an opportunity to bring him back the fans are rightly excited about that, but Brendan Rodgers has got a team to look after. Kieran Tierney is not a Celtic player. He has got to look after his own. “
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