BRENDAN Rodgers last night predicted that no top flight team in his lifetime would go the entire league season unbeaten after watching his Celtic side beat become Invincibles with a final Ladbrokes Premiership win over Hearts.
And the Northern Irishman also hit out at critics who say that going undefeated in Scottish football is easy for the Parkhead club due to the poor standard of the game here and the size of their budget being far greater.
Second-half goals from Leigh Griffiths and Stuart Armstrong secured a 2-0 win in front of a 58,967 crowd at Celtic Park and ensured the defending champions had won 34 and drawn four of their 38 league games.
It is the first time in 119 years that an elite club hasn't lost a league game and Rodgers, whose side will attempt to complete a treble by beating Aberdeen in the William Hill Scottish Cup final at Hampden on Saturday, believes it is an historic accomplishment that won’t be repeated any time soon.
"I’m just so proud of the team and the staff because it’s a real special achievement," he said. “I’m not so sure it will happen again in my lifetime. You just need to look at when it was done before - in the 1890s when it was only an 18 game season. This is a 38-game season and with so many variables in football, that’s what makes it a brilliant achievement.
“There are matches when you are behind, you go to your big rivals, away at Aberdeen, these are all tough games. The way they the players have coped with the pressure has been impressive. It’s such a hard achievement to keep that focus in games and in even in training.
“Whether it will be done again, it’s out there for everyone to have a go at. We’ll have a go at it again next year.”
Read more: Scott Sinclair hoping for first ever cup final appearance as Celtic go for treble
Responding to those who have been critical of the level of their opposition, Rodgers said: “It’s very unfair, because it’s all relative. I was at Chelsea when they won 8-0 at Wigan on the last game of the season. It’s a fantastic league, but they won 8-0. It’s all relative depending on what country you are in.
“I remember something Packie Bonner told me when he was at Reading with Tommy (Burns). There are not too many challenges like playing for Celtic, when you have to win every week.
“I can go with Liverpool to Man United and draw, and it’s a good result. We can’t do that here. Every single game there’s a pressure and an expectancy. Any player or coach will tell you, that’s not easy.
“At Liverpool we were going for the title for the first time in 25 years so it was different. But it’s all pressure, it’s about how you cope with it. If you want to be successful at any club you are going to have pressure, and it increases if you want to work with one of the big institutions. You have to stable for the players and create a vision the players want to follow.
“When you look at the past, when it was last done in the 1890s, it tells you the difficulty of achieving that. It’s a monumental achievement by the players.”
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