Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers called on his players to focus on the football and ease the dissent among fans with results after a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen exacerbated the concerns of the Hoops support.
Celtic ran out to chants of “sack the board” from the visiting fans and a banner reading “Celtic board, on your heads be it”.
Supporters were unhappy with a transfer window that saw Nicolas Kuhn and on-loan Norwich forward Adam Idah arrive and the likes of David Turnbull and Mikey Johnston depart.
Kuhn netted Celtic’s equaliser in the 63rd minute, four minutes after coming off the bench, but many supporters believe the failure to further strengthen the squad has risked their cinch Premiership title defence and they resumed their chants of dissent after the game.
The name “Lawwell” was central to the noise, after the influence of chairman Peter Lawwell and the record of his son, head of recruitment Mark Lawwell, came under scrutiny in recent days.
Rodgers had called for unity ahead of the game and he said afterwards: “I can only concentrate with the players on what we do on the field.
“You always find that winning games and performing well can ease those situations, and that’s what we aim to do.
“Supporters pay their money, they have every right to say what they want to say.
“For us it’s the field, we can only control that. If we can do that, then we will be okay.”
Rodgers, who felt his side lacked aggression in the second half, agreed it was “very important” not to let the complaints become a distraction to his players.
Although the fans were chanting against the board before and after the game, they applauded the players and manager after the final whistle and supported throughout.
“Whatever goes on outside of the field, you have to be able to deal with that,” he added.
“At a club like Celtic, and the biggest clubs, there will always be that pressure there. I don’t need to add any more pressure to the players. They understand, playing here.
“My job is to give them the confidence to find the results we need to find. But there’s still so many games and a long, long way to go.”
Aberdeen did not manage a single effort at goal in the first half but Bojan Miovski netted on the counter-attack in the 50th minute and the Dons had several opportunities to win the game in a strong second-half showing.
Caretaker manager Peter Leven revealed his simple message to his players at half-time: “Relax.”
He added: “Celtic are a good team, they are going to pin you back but when we turned possession over, we just needed to make a few more passes.
“We knew Celtic were going to press the first five seconds. I just said ‘believe in yourselves, be a bit more braver on the ball’. And I think you could see that in the second half.
“We had a few chances in the second half. The boys ran well second half, pressed them, passed the ball a lot better. It was just about belief.”
Aberdeen players were incensed that referee Steven McLean did not send off Maik Nawrocki after the defender fouled Miovski while already on a yellow card but Leven did not make much of the incident.
“I never saw it again,” the first-team coach said. “The second yellow card never happened but it’s one of these things the referee has got to deal with.”
Ricketts congratulates 'Bunny' Shaw on FWA Women's Player of the Year award
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts saluted Reggae Girl and Manchester City striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw on her latest accomplishment of being voted the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Women’s Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
Shaw won the women’s Footballer of the Year award with 80 per cent of the voters opting for either the Manchester City striker or Chelsea’s Lauren James. James finished runner-up with another Manchester City standout Alex Greenwood finishing third. Yui Hasegawa, Elisabeth Terland and Khiara Keating completed the top six.
In a release on Friday, Ricketts pointed out that the award spoke volumes of Shaw's impact on Manchester City's Women's Super League charge, as she has been a model of consistency since joining the Gareth Taylor-coached club in 2021. Her performances have placed Manchester City on the brink of securing their first WSL title since 2016.
“This award is a beautiful feather in her cap and a massive advertisement for Jamaica’s football,” Ricketts said.
“I am happy to see the consistency in quality shown by Khadija. She has always been a top player, but her standard has risen a notch this season. This augurs well for the national team in the future. We wish her all the best on the road to recovery,” he added.
Prior to Shaw sustaining a broken foot during her last Women’s Super League match against West Ham, the Reggae Girls captain scored 21 goals, which were complemented by three assists in 18 games this season.
Shaw is the third Jamaican-born individual to have won the award after John Barnes (1987-88, 1989-90) and Raheem Sterling in 2019.
However, she is the first national representative to receive the honour, as both Barnes and Sterling were England internationals when they earned the recognition.
'It's football hunger' – Moyes intent on West Ham stay as Lopetegui speculation swirls
David Moyes insisted there remains a "football hunger" to carry West Ham forward as speculation persists over the Hammers moving for Julen Lopetegui.
Widespread reports suggest West Ham have been in contact with Lopetegui, who left Wolves ahead of the 2023-24 campaign after just eight months in charge.
Yet Moyes reiterated his commitment to West Ham as the Scotsman aims for another top-10 Premier League finish, with the Hammers ninth in the table heading into the weekend's action.
"Absolutely, it's football hunger," Moyes responded when questioned on his drive to take West Ham to the next level.
"I'm nearly a bit embarrassed to be asked that question because I'm a football nut. I love my football, I go to games, I love it, really do. I have got great hunger."
"I said to everybody that we will make a decision at the end of the season."
West Ham and Moyes will hope to end a three-game winless run in the league when they head to London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Courtois to make first start this season as Madrid close in on title
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will make his first start of the season against Cadiz on Saturday after making a full recovery from two knee injuries, Carlo Ancelotti has revealed.
Ancelotti, however, will remain cautious with Courtois, who has not played since suffering torn ligaments 13 months ago, with Andriy Lunin set to return for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
"The decisive game we have in mind, a final, is Wednesday's match against Bayern, where Lunin will play. After that, we'll see what happens," Ancelotti said on Friday.
"Courtois is fine, he will play tomorrow after a long, long time. It's good news that he's coming back, just like [Eder] Militao.
"Courtois can contribute, he's feeling good, he's very excited. We are delighted to have him back."
Lunin has established himself as Ancelotti's preferred deputy in Courtois' absence, seeing off competition from Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Lunin was Madrid's hero as they beat Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals, making two saves in their 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory after an inspired performance in a 1-1 second-leg draw.
Courtois, however, is widely considered to be one of the world's best goalkeepers and the Belgian is likely to regain his starting spot soon, with a LaLiga and Champions League double in Madrid's sights.
He was named man-of-the-match in the 2022 Champions League final after making nine saves to deny Liverpool as Madrid clinched a record-extending 14th European title with a 1-0 win in Paris.
Brazil centre-back Militao returned in late March after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in August, making his first start in last week's win at Real Sociedad in LaLiga.
"We were too passive against Bayern. We have to be more active. So Militao will play tomorrow to get into a rhythm," Ancelotti said.
"We are only thinking about the 'final' on Wednesday. We don't think about what might happen in a month's time. Hopefully, soon we can start looking further ahead, it will mean we'll make the final in London."
With five games left, Ancelotti's side top the LaLiga standings on 84 points, 11 ahead of Barca and 13 clear of third-placed Girona. They can clinch a record-extending 36th Spanish title if they beat Cadiz and Barcelona fail to win at Girona later on Saturday.
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