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• Brendan Rodgers insists hard work is key for Celtic squad over busy December

  Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers stressed that hard work and mentality would be crucial during a busy December for players who are in and out of his side.

  Rodgers claimed he was the angriest he has ever been as a manager at half-time at McDiarmid Park on Sunday with Celtic trailing 1-0.

  His players reacted to his accusations they had been “soft” in the first half and went on to beat St Johnstone 3-1.

  “For me, it’s very, very straightforward, football,” Rodgers said. “What you gain through experience, and when you take away the technical jargon, the difference in the game is about working hard.

  “And when you are a top team, it’s about working very hard. We failed to do that in the first half and if you don’t do that, you can get punished, with any team.

  “So you always have to guard against that. No matter how good a team you are, the start point for any team is your work. And once you put your work in and play to the intensity and speed of which you are asked to play, you see the difference it makes.

  “There was nothing tactical about Sunday, it was about mentality and physicality and once you bring that to the game you get your rewards.”

  Rodgers has spoken of the need to strengthen his squad in recent weeks despite admitting he has too many players.

  Such comments might not give much encouragement to those who are unable to break into his team, including summer signings Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke, who are being kept out of central defence by Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales. But Rodgers has told his squad players to keep believing.

  “I am out there every day watching training,” he said. “And when I see players training and working with that personality then they will always edge their way closer to my thinking.

  “I have said before it is clear our squad is quite big. Unfortunately for the likes of Maik and Gustaf, Scalesy came into the team and really took his opportunity. Nat Phillips has been brilliant since he has been here, he has been a real positive influence, and it’s the one area of the team you don’t want to change too much when both players are fit.

  “So for any player it’s all about what they do in training and that is all they can do. You can’t get too disappointed. If you are working hard, then hopefully those opportunities come for you.

  “All the guys who came into the game (on Sunday) affected it. The modern game is not now just about the 11 players who start. Guys like Mikey (Johnston) coming into the game was outstanding, very direct, fast and was creative, and worked hard. Jamesy (Forrest) gets his goal, Tommo (Tomoki Iwata) comes in and creates the third goal.

  “That’s testament to how they train, the intensity of our training every day allows them to be at a good level so when they come into the game they make an impact.”

  Rodgers will have Luis Palma available for Wednesday’s cinch Premiership encounter with Hibernian after the winger went off with cramp in Perth.

  Injured trio Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and Reo Hatate are still to return to full training.

  “Liel and Daizen are both on the pitch now which is great news,” Rodgers said. “Daizen is probably a little bit ahead of Liel, but I am expecting at some point this month they will be available.

  “They are back out on the field with the medical team and the rehabilitation team, and hopefully it won’t be too long before they will be back in with the squad again.

  “We allowed Reo to go back to Japan and he has worked very hard there. He returns later in the week and we will assess him when he comes back.”

• Sendings-off stacking up – Premier League on course for record red card haul

  Conor Gallagher’s red card in Chelsea’s win over Brighton on Sunday was the 31st in this season’s Premier League – already more than the whole of last season.

  Here, the PA news agency looks at how the two seasons compare to Premier League history.

  Dirty thirty

  Gallagher’s was the second red card of the Premier League weekend, following Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie’s second of the season in Saturday’s defeat to Burnley.

  Thirty players in total have seen red already this campaign, with 14 clubs having experienced at least one dismissal – Aston Villa, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Luton, Manchester United and Newcastle are the exceptions.

  Liverpool are the worst offenders with four red cards, though Alexis Mac Allister’s against Bournemouth was overturned on appeal. Virgil van Dijk, Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones are their other culprits.

  Gallagher became the third Chelsea player sent off this season, joining Malo Gusto and Reece James and moving them alongside Burnley, Tottenham and Wolves.

  Last season saw 29 Premier League players sent off, with Manchester United midfielder Casemiro the only repeat offender. Wolves’ six, for Nelson Semedo, Mario Lemina, Jonny, Nathan Collins, Diego Costa and Matheus Nunes, were twice as many as any other club.

  Over-correction

  There were only 17 straight red cards last season, the fewest in the Premier League era, while the overall total was the lowest since the 28 shown in 1993-94.

  While an increase on that figure was always likely, this season’s average of one red card every 4.5 games means the top flight is currently on course for 84 over the course of the season.

  That would comfortably be a new record, beating the 75 shown in the 2005-06 season.

  That campaign brought red cards for all 20 teams, and more than one for all bar Portsmouth. Eleven teams had four or more, topped by Blackburn and Everton with seven apiece. A 76th red card initially shown to Newcastle’s Jermaine Jenas against Arsenal was rescinded after referee Steve Bennett reviewed his own decision, with no need for a formal appeal.

  Before last season, the total had been in the 40s for four years in succession – and before that, over 50 every season as far back as 1997-98.

  Goals galore

  Another statistic on the rise this season is the most important in football – goals.

  With Burnley’s 5-0 win over Blades followed on Sunday by Liverpool and Chelsea winning 4-3 and 3-2 respectively and a 3-3 draw between Manchester City and Tottenham, there have now been 442 goals in 140 matches this season.

  That average of 3.16 per game would, if sustained over the full season, be the highest in Premier League history – beating the record of 2.85 set last season.

  The 1,084 goals scored on that occasion were a record for a 20-team season, with this season currently on track for 1,200.

  There have still been only three 0-0 draws – Bournemouth against Chelsea and Crystal Palace’s home games against Fulham and Nottingham Forest.

• Guyana and Grenada earn victories in W Gold Cup qualifying

  Guyana secured first place in Group A of League B as the Road to W Gold Cup tournament began its final matchday on Sunday. Guyana won 3-0 against Antigua and Barbuda at the Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadium in Paramaribo, Suriname.

  Annalisa Vincent struck with a back-heel in the 39th minute to put Guyana in front. The play developed quickly from a Otesha Charles cross to the left side to a pass in the box by Shanice Alferd before Vincent got the final hit.

  Charles put her name on the scoresheet with a header in the 63rd after connecting with a cross from Brianne Desa and Neema Liverpool put the finishing touch on a Guyana corner kick in the 85' on a second assist from Desa.

  Meanwhile,  Grenada topped United States Virgin Islands 2-0 to finish Group C of League C of the Road to W Gold Cup with a perfect record at the Bethlehem Soccer Stadium in St. Croix, USVI.

  Grenada finished the group with four wins in four matches, while USVI are second with four points, followed by Bahamas with one point.

  The first half did not see a goal, but there were ample chances for both sides, including five shots on target for the home side. USVI was getting most of their activity from Ariel Stoltz and Josie Couch, while Grenada’s top scorer, Nia Thompson, accounted for the two best looks at goal for the visitors.

  Grenada came out much more aggressive to start the second half and a driving run into the area from Melania Fullerton resulted in a foul from the USVI defense and a penalty kick. Fullerton was tasked with taking the spot kick and she coolly converted, firing in a powerful right-footed attempt for a 1-0 Grenada lead.

  Grenada were flying and came within a whisker of doubling the lead in the 71st minute when Roneisha Frank hammered a shot toward goal that USVI keeper Kinda Lambert managed to tip to the crossbar and out of play.

  Frank would get her goal in the 78th when miscommunication between Lambert and her defense led to spill in front of goal and Frank was there to clean it up to double the lead, 2-0, which held until the final whistle.