BREAKING: Brendan Rodgers, manager of Celtic, wastes no time taking aim at Rangers over the derby ticket scandal.

Brendan Rodgers, the manager of Celtic, had a strong reaction when asked why away fans keep not showing up for the derby games against Rangers.

Over the summer, Celtic spent time and money making changes to make Celtic Park safer and better for visiting Rangers fans. They decided not to give away tickets for the next game because they weren’t sure that the same work would be done at Ibrox in time for the new year’s derby.

The two teams and the SPFL agreed to do these things earlier this year. When it became clear that Rangers couldn’t promise they would follow through with the plans, it put the Scottish Premiership champions in a tough spot.

In the end, it means that there won’t be any away fans at either of the next two derby games. Let’s hope that Rangers can finish their work in time for the last two league derbies.

When asked what he thought about what was going on today, Rodgers made it clear. Celtic is not to blame for this.

Brendan Rodgers has something to say about how Celtic and Rangers are split up.

At a press meeting [Clyde 1], he said, “The club’s job is to protect the fans.” If there isn’t that promise for the second match, it makes sense that you wouldn’t respond.

“Celtic did what they were asked to do.” It has nothing to do with Celtic when you look at how this all began. Celtic is brought into this because it has to do with Celtic and Rangers. It’s not between Celtic and Rangers; it’s between Rangers and Celtic.

“Celtic, even they are being asked to sign this to keep things safe.” We put money into that and have been working on it for months. It’s not hard, but no one has done it before. There’s a deal for both, and it’s not done. You can say it in any way you want.

“It’s not good faith if we let Rangers fans in but not our own fans by January.” It’s not honest. The agreement hasn’t been followed through on, so Celtic should stand up for their fans and the team.

“Unfortunately, Celtic fans will miss this game and Rangers fans will miss the return game.” But let’s hope we can find a way to let the fans in after that.

Rodgers gets it right on the mark.

The Celtic boss did a good job of using the media to make his team’s point. A lot of experts and people with opinions say that the Bhoys are just as much to blame for this as anyone else.

The club has been clear more than once: they want big crowds at both grounds for this match between the two teams.

Rangers agreed to put these safety and match-experience steps in place. Now, they can’t say for sure when they’ll be able to finish the job. It’s a simple case, as Rodgers says.