Rodgers has constantly bemoaned the lack of quality he has at his disposal but his remarks after Dens Park stunned Martin O’Neill
Martin O’Neill reckons Brendan Rodgers will regret comparing his playing squad to a mediocre Honda Civic.
The Celtic boss vented his frustrations on Sunday after watching his lacklustre side crash to a shocking 2-0 defeat at Dens Park.
Rodgers appeared to take another swipe at the board as the damage from a messy transfer window rumbles on by lamenting: “I think the challenge from the summer, now leading into here, where we lost a lot of firepower, a lot of goals out on the team.
“And there’s no way you’ll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say ‘I want you to drive it like a Ferrari.’ It’s not going to happen.”
But given the immense resources Rodgers has at his disposal compared to Dundee – who started the day second bottom of the table – his staggering remarks have raised eyebrows.
And legendary Parkhead boss O’Neill believes the Irishman may look back and regret words that are unlikely to have gone down well in the boardroom.
O’Neill told talkSPORT: “That’s a big statement for Brendan to make there.
“I have said thousands of times, I have made a lot of statements in my time, and I have come to regret loads of them.
“Probably all of them. But I don’t think you should be saying that, at this minute. I am not one to give advice to managers and that.
“But if a manager is making that comment, you feel as if it’s directed at you. And you haven’t given him the tools to go and do what he is to do.”
While Celtic diehards have been protesting against the hierarchy, Rodgers and his struggling side are now starting to feel the heat from the stands amid a sluggish start to the campaign.
O’Neill added: “I don’t know why he said that, in all honesty, but he will have his reasons for it. You just wouldn’t do that.
“This is a comment totally directed at the board for not supporting him. You wouldn’t do it.
“You wouldn’t publicly say this because it doesn’t go down well.
“Remarkably, believe it or not, after a while, it doesn’t go down well with the support.”