‘Never worked harder’: Rodgers vows to end Celtic slump after Hearts defeat

Brendan Rodgers insisted he has “never worked harder” to find on‑field answers after Celtic fell eight points behind Hearts in the Scottish Premiership with a 3-1 defeat in Edinburgh. The home team’s win means the champions have lost back‑to‑back league games and taken only 17 points from a possible 27 in their latest title defence. Rodgers denied he has lost appetite for the battle. “I’ve never worked harder in all my time here,” the Celtic manager said. “So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we’re at. It’s absolutely fine, it’s still so early. I think that’s the key point in it all. Related: Hearts move eight points clear at top after Shankland spot-kick sees off Celtic “Hearts have made a fantastic start, got the points on the board, but there’s so much football to play. We’ve just got to hang in there at this moment, find those performances, find the results and hopefully our levels will improve as the season goes on.” Rodgers did admit he faced a challenge in changing the mentality of his squad. “We have to fill the players with confidence,” he said. “The context of today is obviously disappointing in the game and the result. But there are 29 games left.” Derek McInnes again played down the prospect of a first championship flag at Tynecastle since 1960. No team other than Celtic or Rangers has won the league since Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen in 1985. “Celtic spend millions and they pay millions in wages, a lot more than we can ever do,” the Hearts manager said. “They, hands down, have got so many advantages over every other team in the league at the minute including ourselves. But we do feel as if there’s improvement in us. “There is a long way to go. If this was after the second round of games and we were sitting in the position then it might be a wee bit more difficult for me to sit here and say what I’m saying. But at the minute, it’s easy to say what I’m saying.”