Why Celtic need to bring their A-game back to the table

For Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers it must feel like it has been broken all season and that he has had no quick fix. Injuries to key personnel at critical junctures in the campaign have seen the champions garner any consistency or fluency this season. It has at times threatened to derail everything.

American defensive colossus Cameron Carter-Vickers has had his fair share of injury woes and missed most of the season. Japanese midfield dynamo Reo Hatate has been in the same boat and has had to watch a huge part of the campaign from the sidelines. Hatate's compatriot Daizen Maeda has also had his troubles with injury as well as being called up for national service with Japan at the Asian Cup.

Throw in the likes of Polish defender Maik Nawrocki, Israeli winger Liel Abada, homeboy Greg Taylor and now Alistair Johnston all having spells on the treatment table at various intervals then the Northern Irishman will probably admit that he has never known a football campaign like it in his career.

Celtic according to Rodgers have lacked cohesion and rhythm for large chunks. You can say that again.

The defending Scottish Premiership champions and Scottish Cup holders have often struggled to hit the opposition with their rhythm stick on numerous occasions this season.

Rodgers is no blockhead though and whilst performance levels may have dipped recently he is adamant that despite the many setbacks his side has endured they still haven't lost the ability to eke out results and win matches.

READ MORE: Celtic loanee Idah is destined for the very top says Rodgers

The 51-year-old still believes that his charges can go through the gears and up their levels. He said: "I always look for continual improvement. It is understandable as there are key players that have missed a lot of the season. The team has been broken a lot of the season in terms of that rhythm and the level of the players that have been missing.

"Added to that you have new players coming in looking to adapt the way you want to work and players coming in that have maybe not played for a little while. All of that leads to the team not being as cohesive as you want to be. The players are still giving everything. They are working very hard. They have won six out of the last seven games, so whilst you are looking for that cohesion and more creativity it is still important to win and that's what the players are doing."

One huge positive to emerge from Wednesday night in Edinburgh was the contribution of the on-loan Norwich City striker Adam Idah who kept his cool to calmly stroke two penalties away with consummate ease and hand Celtic all three precious Premiership points in the process. Allowing for Celtic's woes from 12 yards this season - they have missed four spot kicks - Rodgers reckons that the Republic of Ireland international will continue to get better with hard work.

He reckons the natural talent needs to continue to nurture his talent and that will only serve to benefit Celtic down the home stretch in what is traditionally known as the business end of the season. He said: "It was important to get a level of player that could come in and contribute. That was Adam's first 90 minutes for a long period of time. What was really impressive was - in terms of his two penalties - the composure and authority that he showed.

"It is not easy, especially the timeline for him taking the first one and netting his first goal for the club and then the last one at the end which was going to hopefully be a winning goal. To score them with that authority was great. In the actual game itself, just him coming to terms with how we wanted to press the game and how we wanted to run in behind, he was constantly searching and he got into some good positions. He's only going to get better. He has to keep pushing himself.

"There are lots of players in the world that have talent but you don't know their names. They are playing in parks in various cities around the world. He has a talent but he has to keep ensuring that he works and works and if he can do that then he'll be a real asset for Celtic between now and the end of the season."

READ MORE: Celtic's Adam Idah reacts to 'crazy' first week at the club

It remains to be seen if the midweek last-gasp 2-1 win over Hibernian at Easter Road can have a galvanising effect on Rodgers and his men in green and white. All the talk has turned to the fact that we are strapping ourselves in for a close-run Scottish Premiership title race but all of that chatter is on the back burner this weekend as Celtic heads to Paisley to take on Stephen Robinson's on-form St Mirren in the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.

Ironically one of Celtic's highs this season came at the SMiSA Stadium when they easily brushed the Saints aside 3-0 on January 2nd. Rodgers has challenged his men to replicate those levels. He said: "The League and the Scottish Cup are two different competitions. It has absolutely nothing to do with the league but it is a game that takes us on the way to the final. That's where we want to get to.

"I would expect that level. That's the level that we need to bring. Stephen's (Robinson) team are in really good form and has had a couple of good results. They'll see this as a chance because they are at home to avenge our last performance there. We played really well in that game. We maximised having 11 versus 10. We will be ready for that.

"I think if you look at it then it probably is one of the hardest ties we could have drawn The form they are in and how well they have been doing speaks for itself. If you are going to win any cup competition then you have to negotiate various hurdles and play tough away games. That is part of the draw and you have to accept that.

"I think that Stephen’s teams are very well coached, they’ll play balanced and press at the right moments and be aggressive whilst defending the spaces. I think we’ll plan and prepare for a game where they’ll defend well and together. The onus will be on us to be creative to break them down."

That creative spark may have deserted Celtic temporarily but that is something that can be fixed and Sunday in Paisley could well be the ideal occasion to do it. Just as he did in midweek Rodgers implored his men to bring their Celtic heart and soul to the table, if nothing else. he said: "I said to the players before the Hibs match that they had 14 games to go and we had to give our heart and soul to every game and naturally that was our analysis after the game.

"We want to play better and there were spells in the game - the start of both halves when we were fast and bright and forced them back - but the analysis will tell us that we have to bring our 'A' game into the next match.

"You can't sustain it. If you don't play well in many games then you can't expect to win. So for us, the work over the last few days has been to bring our 'A' game back and when you are maybe not quite at your best you just need to have that heart and mentality to keep going to the end and get the win which is very important."

If Celtic do manage to bring their 'A' game for the remainder of the campaign then that will make them the A-Team. If they do win the League and Scottish Cup double, then it will be Rodgers who'll love it as his plan will have come together.