Brendan Rodgers conceded that he substituted Reo Hatate during Saturday's win over Rangers due to what he described as a "sloppy and loose" performance in the Celtic midfield.

The 26-year-old struggled to maintain his composure throughout the 2-1 victory, which puts Celtic on the brink of another Scottish Premiership title, and was replaced by Tomoki Iwata on 80 minutes. 

Celtic just need a point from their last two games to be crowned champions, yet manager, Rodgers, was still finding flaws in his sides showing. 

And he didn't mince words when discussing the Japanese international, stating that Hatate's tendency to give the ball away too frequently is not to his liking.

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"My message at 2-1 was just to keep the ball and manage the game," Rodgers explained. "That's why Reo came off. He's a big talent but he gives it away too much for my liking.

"As a midfielder you have to control the game. You have to show love for the ball and take care of it. It was too loose and sloppy. The game became more tense than it should have been.

"We missed a penalty to make it 3-1 and that's a game that could have ended up 5-1 or 6-1. That's the downside but if you win a game against Rangers the upsides are much greater."