Celtic have repeated their request for supporters to stop using pyrotechnics after being hit with another fine from UEFA.

The club said they had been fined 23,400 euros (about £20,260) after fans lit fireworks in the stands ahead of their Champions League group opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.

A spokesperson for Celtic said: “Clearly, we are concerned that, despite repeated requests and safety warnings, a small minority continue to use pyrotechnics at Celtic’s matches.

“The use of pyrotechnics represents a serious risk to the safety of our supporters.

“Celtic has been hit with another significant sanction by UEFA due to this behaviour. Again, the club requests that this conduct stops.”

News of the fine came hours before their first home game of the competition against Lazio.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke believes he has the depth and flexibility to cope with the loss of Kieran Tierney for next week’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Spain.

Tierney suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Real Sociedad on Saturday and Clarke has added left-back Greg Taylor and centre-back Liam Cooper to his squad.

Scotland will qualify for next summer’s finals in Germany if they get a point in Seville on October 12.

“First and foremost it’s a shame for Kieran,” Clarke said. “He got a really good move on loan to Sociedad, started really well and obviously picked up what looks like quite a significant injury.

“We will miss him but I know Kieran, he will work as hard as he can to get back as quickly as possible, and we will be there to support him, and hopefully we are waiting on the other side for him as well with some good news.

“The squad is strong, I believe I have good options. It’s nice to be able to call on people like Greg Taylor, who has started the season well with Celtic. Liam Cooper has come back to the squad as well, which gives me another option.”

Clarke devised his three-man central defence to fit Tierney inside wing-back Andy Robertson and does not have another central defender who can carry the ball forward like the Arsenal man.

Scotland took seven points from three Nations League games in September 2022 while playing a back four in the absence of the injured Tierney, and Clarke is considering his options.

“What you have to weigh up is whether you have time on the training pitch to change the team, to change the system,” said Clarke, whose team also face France in a friendly in Lille on October 17.

“This one is a little bit more difficult because it’s a Thursday match, so the first match is difficult in terms of changing the system.

“That’s not to say we won’t do it because we have done it before. If I feel it’s the right way to go, then we can change the system.

“We still have games this week and at the weekend. You have to wait and see which squad actually turns up, hopefully no more injuries. Once I’ve got everybody in camp, we will make a decision on how we are going to go.

“Then we will have two quite short training sessions to work on the tactical side of it, and we will make sure we get that right.

“I think we could easily slot back into it because most of the players play with a back four with their club, so it’s not as if you are asking them to do something they can’t do.

“They proved in that September week of the Nations League that they could adapt very quickly to a different system.

“It’s a system that we quite often change to within games, if we have to get after the game and maybe chase it a little bit. So it’s a system we can use.”

Clarke admitted he was “nowhere” with the possibility of Newcastle pair Harvey Barnes and Elliot Anderson being involved.

Whitley Bay-born Anderson last week indicated he wanted more time to consider his international future, having left the last Scotland camp after two days following his first call-up to the full squad.

England cap Barnes was recently reported to be considering a switch of allegiance but was last week ruled out for three months with a foot injury.

Clarke said: “I haven’t spoken to Harvey for a long time, so nothing on that one.

“Similar with Elliot, he left the last camp and I haven’t spoken to him since. I haven’t picked him for this camp and I move on and work with the players we have got.”

Clarke would not rule out picking Anderson again “if he doesn’t choose England” but added: “Listen, Elliot is a young man making his way in the game. He has got a big decision to make, international-wise, so let’s just give the boy a little bit of time and space to make that decision.”

The only other change sees Luton striker Jacob Brown replace Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland.

Clarke said: “I had a chat with Lawrence, no problems. It was just a decision I wanted to make for this camp.

“Obviously Lawrence was in the last camp but didn’t get any minutes on the pitch and I felt there could be a similar scenario this time.

“I also wanted to have a look at Jacob because he has started quite well at Luton, playing week in, week out in the Premier League.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has backed Michael Beale to learn from his Rangers experience and be a success in his next job.

Beale was sacked on Sunday after 307 days in the post with Rangers seven points adrift of Celtic in the cinch Premiership following their third league defeat of the season against Aberdeen 24 hours earlier.

Rodgers and Beale were both on the Chelsea coaching staff at the same time and the former Rangers boss was Liverpool Under-21s head coach when the Celtic manager was in charge at Anfield.

“I’m always saddened when any manager loses their job, no matter what club they work at,” said Rodgers when asked for his reaction ahead of Celtic’s Champions League clash with Lazio.

“When you manage Celtic or Rangers, they are big-pressure jobs. I am sure Michael will go away and reflect on his time here and no doubt he will he come back in again, he is an outstanding young coach and manager.

“He will go away and reflect on the pressure he was under and the expectation and the stress that this job can bring, and he will learn from it and go on and get another job and make a success of it, I am pretty sure.

“Whatever club, whoever it is, it’s not nice when someone loses their role and position.

“I hope for him the best for the future, of course.”

Kevin Muscat, Frank Lampard and Pascal Jansen are among the bookmakers’ favourites to succeed Beale.

Former Rangers player Muscat led Yokohama F Marinos to the J-League title last season, following in the footsteps of his coaching mentor Ange Postecoglou, who clinched the treble for Celtic last term with the help of two Hampden wins over Beale’s side.

Lampard is available following underwhelming spells in charge of both Everton and Chelsea last season while Jansen’s AZ Alkmaar side sit second in the Eredivisie after making the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last season.

Cameron Carter-Vickers could be in line for a surprise recall when Celtic host Lazio in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The centre-back has not played since suffering a hamstring injury against Aberdeen on August 13.

With Gustaf Lagerbielke missing through suspension following his red card in the Group E opener against Feyenoord, and Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh still out through injury, Rodgers has limited options in central defence.

Liam Scales is set to continue in the team following his impressive recent form, while on-loan Liverpool Nat Phillips is available after coming off the bench at Motherwell on Saturday to make his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury on his debut against Dundee on September 16.

Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “In terms of Nat, he came through fine so he will be available.

“Cam, we wouldn’t take a risk unless he was fit. He has come through really, really well. He is further down the road than we thought.

“He has had a real good week of training and he’s been doing lots of other work out on the field before that.

“I said before that it (his return) might have been after the international break but he’s made great progress, so we will just assess that to see if he can be in for the squad (on Wednesday) and if he is, then obviously it would be great news for us.”

Former Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic has announced his retirement at the age of 30 to focus on his family after revealing his wife is expecting twins following “struggles and heartache with fertility treatment”.

The ex-Australia international, who earned 53 for his country, joined the Hoops in 2013 from Central Coast Mariners and spent nine trophy-laden years at Parkhead before moving to West Brom in 2022.

During his time with Celtic, Rogic made 271 appearances for the club and helped them win six Scottish Premiership titles, five Scottish Cups and five League Cups.

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In calling time on his professional career in an emotional Instagram post, Rogic reflected on his achievements and also opened up on the fertility struggles he and his wife have faced over the last seven years and said he would be “forever grateful” for the support and help they received from Celtic.

“After careful consideration I have made the decision to retire from professional football,” said Rogic, who returned to Australia after being released by West Brom this summer.

“I have always been rather private with things in my personal life but I feel given the significance, I think it is important for people to understand why and how I have made my decision.

“Throughout the past seven years my wife and I have been on an immensely challenging journey with fertility issues. After years of trying and many failed rounds of IVF, my wife and I were fortunate enough to welcome the birth of our daughter in 2021.

“I have loved every minute of being a dad and consider it my greatest achievement in life.

“After experiencing some more struggles and heartache with fertility treatment, we have recently received the amazing news that our family is growing and we will be expecting twins in 2024.

“Given our past and how hard we have fought for this, along with the challenges that will come with having twins and a two-year-old now seems like the right time to give my focus and attention to what is the most important thing in my life – my family.

“I feel very lucky to have had a career where I spent the majority of my time playing at Celtic, one of the biggest clubs in the world, playing European football, winning many trophies and playing in front of 60,000 fans each week. I have also been lucky enough to represent my country with the Socceroos on over 50 occasions and experienced playing in major international tournaments.

“I feel very lucky to have formed some wonderful friendships through football and experienced so many special moments together. I would also like to thank Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond. Without their help all of this would not have been possible.

“Through Peter and Dermot, I was put in direct contact with one of the world’s leading medical experts, which eventually led to my wife and I being placed at the clinic that would give us the best chance possible to start a family. I will be forever grateful.

“To the managers who supported and guided me through some tough times, I’d like to say a big thank you to Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon, John Kennedy and Ange Postecoglou.

“Indeed I would like to thank everyone in football who has given me such great opportunity throughout my career to be part of the game I love.”

It was a dramatic Saturday in the cinch Premiership.

The day started with one of the most thrilling finales to a game at Fir Park for years and there was soon a bigger story up the road in Glasgow.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

Michael Beale is on the precipice

A four-match winning run failed to silence many of the doubters among the Rangers support after a heavy defeat by PSV Eindhoven and a home loss to Celtic led to calls for the manager to be sacked. Those demands were reignited after Aberdeen’s 3-1 win at Ibrox left Rangers seven points behind their city rivals after losing three of their first seven league games. The board may see a lengthy injury list as a mitigating factor and question whether changing manager for a second time inside 12 months is advisable. But Beale has little room for error if he is to remain in the job.

Alex Lowry is making his mark

The on-loan Rangers midfielder has been on the Hearts bench for the past four games but he will be difficult to leave out next weekend after following up his midweek Viaplay Cup winner at Kilmarnock with an assist for Alan Forrest’s headed winner against Ross County in Dingwall. Head coach Steven Naismith said of the 20-year-old: “I challenge him all the time to give us an end product, and I thought he was really good off the ball today. We can’t have a luxury player, he needs to be in certain positions and I thought he did that really well when he came on.”

Celtic still never stop

Ange Postecoglou’s mantra helped Celtic to some last-gasp wins in the past two seasons and they were at it again at Fir Park when Matt O’Riley netted seven minutes into stoppage time, moments after Blair Spittal had levelled for Motherwell. Luis Palma had only opened the scoring for Celtic in the 87th minute. The winner sparked wild celebrations and the Celtic fans’ feelgood factor was further fuelled by the news from Ibrox later in the day.

St Johnstone still looking for elusive win

Dara Costelloe gave the Perth side the lead at home to Livingston but captain Liam Gordon later conceded a penalty and received a red card in separate incidents as Sean Kelly earned Livi a 1-1 draw from the spot. Steven MacLean’s side are still playing catch-up after a slow start to the transfer window but they are four points adrift with a trip to in-form Aberdeen to follow and the wait for a first win could become a millstone.

Aberdeen find consistency

The Dons have hit their groove in emphatic fashion after a poor start to the season. Barry Robson’s side made it three wins in a week with their Ibrox heroics, following wins over Ross County in both the league and Viaplay Cup. Despite failing to win their first five matches, Aberdeen now find themselves just four points behind Rangers and with plenty to look forward to, starting with Thursday’s visit of HJK Helsinki in the Europa Conference League.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed his players’ composure and spirit following their dramatic late victory over Motherwell.

The cinch Premiership leaders looked to have won it when substitute Luis Palma whipped the ball just inside the far post to open the scoring in the 87th minute at Fir Park.

Motherwell levelled five minutes into stoppage time when Blair Spittal slotted home but Matt O’Riley converted Greg Taylor’s deep cross two minutes later to spark wild celebrations and seal a 2-1 win.

Rodgers said: “It was a great response by the players, incredible mentality. I said to them afterwards, this club’s history is built on many late goals, that’s what Celtic does, but you have to have that will and desire to keep going.

“I thought we dominated the game. Credit to Motherwell because they were tight and compact. You are not going to have it all your own way so you have to be patient and work the ball at speed. Probably our only thing was lacking a wee bit of quality in and around the box.

“But once they equalised we stayed clam, kept working the ball and waiting for that moment. We didn’t start lumping it into the box. We worked our way up the pitch, one side to the other, and it was a great cross by Greg Taylor, who showed immense resilience to stay on because he has taken a bad whack on his calf.

“Matty finished and it was brilliant for the supporters, they are starting to see how this team will keep fighting right to the end.”

Motherwell have now lost by one goal against each of the top three in successive weeks and manager Stuart Kettlewell again felt they deserved more from the game.

“It’s probably as sore a defeat as I have had,” he said.

“We have had a real tough run of games, going to Ibrox and playing against a high-flying St Mirren and then Celtic. But all I can comment on is how my players are acquitting themselves and I hope you see how well they have played again.

“I accept at times Celtic dominate the ball and carve out probably more chances than there have been in the last two games we have had but nobody can deny there was a real identity to our team again.

“We created some real good chances ourselves and showed that character to get back in the game. It’s a bitter pill to swallow yet again.”

Celtic fans spilled on to the track after Palma’s goal with one or two bursting on to the pitch and Motherwell supporters responded by coming on to the park after their equaliser. Celtic’s winner sparked an even bigger invasion and missiles were exchanged between the two sets of fans.

Kettlewell said: “I don’t want to see those scenes, nobody will, but I also think by the emotion of the game and Celtic knowing they were properly in one again, scoring so late, I understand the emotion of the football supporter.

“But that doesn’t vindicate the fact we have got fans streaming on to the park. It does a look a bit ugly.

“You are always concerned about your own players’ safety but Celtic supporters were on to cheer their goal and celebrate with their team so there was no situation where our players were accosted or anything.”

Rodgers added: “I saw people on the pitch and, listen, that is not what we would want. You understand a little bit the lateness of the goals and what that brings to it and you have to think of the context, but I didn’t see anything else.”

Matt O’Riley celebrated his new contract with a winner seven minutes into stoppage time as Celtic edged a 2-1 win over Motherwell after a dramatic finale at Fir Park.

Blair Spittal had levelled for Motherwell two minutes earlier after substitute Luis Palma grabbed his first Celtic goal in the 87th minute.

Fans were on the pitch after each of the late goals and missiles flew between the two sets of supporters after O’Riley’s winner.

The game had been on a knife edge throughout and Scott Bain, deputising for the suspended Joe Hart, made two good saves while the game was goalless.

O’Riley’s new four-year deal was announced on the morning of the game and he showed his worth by converting a cushioned volley at the back post following Greg Taylor’s cross.

The victory set Celtic up for the visit of Lazio in the Champions League on Wednesday and delivered another blow to Motherwell, who have now suffered narrow defeats against the top three in successive weeks.

Celtic had the bulk of the early possession but the only chances in the first quarter came from set-pieces. Spittal came close with an overhead kick and Liam Scales headed wide at the other end.

Motherwell were looking solid and Kyogo Furuhashi curled wide from 22 yards when Celtic did manage to pass the ball through the lines.

The home side had the best chance of the half when Spittal’s quick free-kick found Harry Paton’s run. Bain came out to block Paton’s shot with his foot and Celtic cleared the midfielder’s driven cross on the rebound.

Liam Kelly made his only save of the first half from O’Riley after quick feet from Yang Hyun-jun before Spittal got Motherwell in behind again. However, Brodie Spencer could not find a final ball to capitalise.

James Forrest replaced Yang at half-time and Celtic began to show more urgency in the final third. Taylor and Gustaf Lagerbielke could not make the most of half chances.

Motherwell raised their own tempo in possession and had the ball in the net after Bevis Mugabi challenged Bain at a high ball. Stephen O’Donnell hit the ball off Mugabi on the lone before knocking home the rebound and the offside flag went up. Mugabi’s challenge might have been penalised anyway if the wing-back had netted first time.

Taylor created Celtic’s best chance so far when he won the ball on the edge of the box and set up Daizen Maeda but the Japanese attacker shot over with only Kelly to beat.

Motherwell responded and Theo Bair volleyed straight at Bain before the goalkeeper’s feet again came to Celtic’s rescue when he blocked Spittal’s effort following Callum Slattery’s through ball.

The home side looked tired as the game entered the final 10 minutes and Kelly saved Forrest’s header after Palma’s cross.

Then came the drama. Palma curled just inside the far post from just outside the corner of the box as the ball whipped in between defender Dan Casey and Kelly. Fans spilled on to the track from behind the goal in the Tommy McLean Stand.

Motherwell found some energy and with plenty of players in the Spittal slotted into the far corner. Dozens of Motherwell fans were suddenly on the pitch and they were barely back in their seats when O’Riley struck and sparked an even bigger pitch invasion.

Celtic have received a major boost after Japan midfielder Reo Hatate signed a new five-year contract.

The 25-year-old has scored 14 goals in 71 appearances since joining in January 2022.

Manager Brendan Rodgers told Celtic’s website he was delighted with Hatate’s decision to extend his stay.

“I have had some great discussions with him in recent weeks, I know he loves the club and our supporters and how ambitious he is to bring more success to the club,” Rodgers added.

“Reo has already shown us what a talent he is, making a great contribution to the team since he has joined Celtic.

“He is a huge talent, an exciting young player with great attributes and someone who can change a game.

“I know he is the type of man and player, though, who doesn’t want to rest. He is hungry to improve every day and achieve more and more to be the very best he can be – and Celtic is a great place for him to do this.

“We go forward now together with real confidence and I really look forward to continuing our work with him and the rest of the squad as we face all our challenges ahead.”

Hatate added: “I have had the best welcome ever since I joined the club and I want to thank all our fans for the great support they continue to give to us all.”

Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston will embrace his developing role as one of the more senior members of the squad after signing his latest contract.

Ralston has made five appearances since the return of Brendan Rodgers and the manager quickly showed his faith by handing him a new contract until the summer of 2027 this week.

The academy graduate made his Celtic debut seven years ago under Ronny Deila and was handed further first-team action by Rodgers before truly establishing himself in the early days of Ange Postecoglou’s reign, following loan spells with Dundee United and St Johnstone.

Given the number of players who have arrived at Celtic Park over the last two years, the Scotland international accepts he can now be classed as a senior player.

“Unfortunately, aye…,” he said. “I am only turning 25 in November but for sure I’m not a kid anymore.

“When there’s younger boys coming into the team, it’s trying to help them settle in as much as possible, especially if they are coming from different backgrounds and different countries.

“It’s up to the likes of myself and boys who have been here for a long time or who have come through to help them settle in as best as possible so they can perform at their best.

“It’s a different time now for me after signing the contract. I am going to be here until I am slightly older again so it’s adapting through my career into that experience level where I can help younger boys, because I have been there myself at 18, 19, 20.

“I am lucky, we still have more experienced boys than me, the likes of Cal (McGregor), Joe (Hart), Jamesy (Forrest), who take the lead on that. I still very much look to them as well as trying to help the younger lads.

“But when that point of my career comes – not just yet – I have had great role models to be able to fulfil that when the time comes.”

Rodgers this week stated it was important for Celtic to have players such as Ralston who understand what it means to play for the club as supporters and youth academy graduates.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s cinch Premiership clash at Motherwell, Ralston agreed: “I do feel it’s important. It’s a hard journey to get to this point but I am one of the lucky ones who have been able to break through. There are a lot of kids who don’t.

“I have had great role models like Callum and Jamesy that I have seen do it and it gives everyone that bit of hope.”

Ralston has previously spoken about how the birth of his daughter, Mila, inspired him to make his breakthrough under Postecoglou after he only played once during the 2020-21 season. And his role as a father continues to motivate him.

“The contract is a symbol of the work I am putting in for her and for the rest of my family and friends who have helped me all the way from being a kid to now,” he said.

“She is definitely getting to grips more with what her dad does. She is only three and a half so trying to explain that to her and sometimes she is quite interested, then other times she is not.

“But she will get there and when she is older she will be able to look back at all the memories that I have tried to create for her early in her life and realise how special it was.

“She is my main motivation, she is my responsibility and my career reflects my life as well. It’s just about trying to give her everything and the best life possible.

“She is going to grow up and look back at the success and the things I create. It’s my job to make sure they are as special as possible and I hope I am doing that for her.”

Celtic’s injury problems in central defence are easing as Nat Phillips and Cameron Carter-Vickers step up their comebacks.

Phillips has missed two games after rolling his ankle on his debut against Dundee but the on-loan Liverpool defender could return in Saturday’s cinch Premiership meeting with Motherwell at Fir Park.

The centre-back’s return is a welcome boost for manager Brendan Rodgers as Gustaf Lagerbielke’s European suspension would otherwise leave Liam Scales as the only fit central defender for next Wednesday’s Champions League visit of Lazio.

Rodgers said: “Nat Phillips we are keeping an eye on, he has rejoined the group but we just have to make sure with his ankle. But that looks much better. Hopefully (he will be back) for the weekend.

“No-one else who has been out injured will be back.”

Carter-Vickers is also stepping up his return from a hamstring injury while fellow centre-backs Stephen Welsh and Maik Nawrocki are further behind.

“Cam is coming back in to rejoin the training group but he is not going to be ready until after the international break, I would suspect,” Rodgers said.

The Celtic manager will make a decision over who replaces the suspended Joe Hart at Fir Park.

Scott Bain came off the bench and kept a clean sheet after Hart was sent off in the first half of Celtic’s 3-0 win at Livingston on Saturday but Benjamin Siegrist is another option.

Rodgers said: “We will look at it between Scott and Benji. Both of the guys work really hard every day so we will finalise the team on Friday.”

Celtic and Rangers emerged with contrasting emotions despite both recording wins in week six of the cinch Premiership.

There were also wins for St Mirren, Hibernian and Aberdeen while Dundee and Kilmarnock shared the spoils at Dens Park.

Here are five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

Celtic get ‘monumental’ win

Brendan Rodgers called Celtic’s 3-0 victory at Livingston “monumental” after the champions built on their one-goal lead despite having Joe Hart sent off.

Celtic again showed a good response to adversity four days after picking up two red cards in a 2-0 defeat by Feyenoord.

Rodgers said: “Livingston is a notoriously hard place to come anyway, never mind with 10 men, so to play with that mentality was very good.”

Dons kick-start their season

Aberdeen had been experiencing their worst start to a campaign for almost a quarter of a century but they picked up their first win of the campaign at the sixth time of asking, and did so in emphatic fashion.

A 4-0 win over Ross County set the Dons up for a Viaplay Cup quarter-final in Dingwall on Wednesday.

The Saints go marching on

St Mirren are still only two points off the top after beating Hearts 1-0 in Paisley.

And it could have been more after they had three goals disallowed, two of them in controversial fashion.

Manager Stephen Robinson said: “I’ll let the fans enjoy it, let them dream and I’ll keep within the realism.”

Montgomery shows his intent

New Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery made history in his first match at Easter Road by making Rory Whittaker the club’s youngest player at only 16 years and 44 days.

Whittaker was a ball boy for Hibs earlier in the season but he came off the bench in a 2-0 win over St Johnstone that continued Montgomery’s unbeaten start to life in Scotland since his move from Central Coast Mariners.

Rangers take a step back

That was the analysis of manager Michael Beale despite a third win and clean sheet in eight days.

Beale was unimpressed by his side’s performance in a 1-0 win over Motherwell, days after being left delighted by the same scoreline against Real Betis.

The goal came courtesy of a deflection off Cyriel Dessers and Motherwell had a number of chances to maintain their seven-month unbeaten Premiership run on the road.

Beale admitted: “We got away with one.”

Alistair Johnston hailed team-mate Daizen Maeda as a “machine” after the Celtic forward capped a fine performance against Livingston with his side’s third goal.

Brendan Rodgers’ men were ahead through a Reo Hatate penalty when Joe Hart was sent off for a foul on Mo Sangare.

However, Celtic extended their advantage through Matt O’Riley before claiming a third from Maeda in stoppage time.

Johnston hailed the Japanese international as an inspiration for his tireless running.

The Celtic full-back said: “He’s a machine. That’s the simplest way to look at it.

“You look back at the Rangers match and he was just flying around the pitch for 90 minutes and it was the same in this match as well. He’s got an unbelievable engine.

“He’s a nightmare to play or train against. Just ask any of our full-backs who have to go up against him. He’s just constant.

“He’s like this every day, which makes it really difficult for us, although it’s good to train against a guy like that. You can never take a minute off.

“He really does count for two on that side as you think you bypass him with the ball and he’s doubling down, pressing the guy again.

“It’s amazing to watch from my side across the pitch as you know the guy doesn’t know what’s coming as all of a sudden Daizen is there again. He’s a joy to have in your team, he’s such a weapon.

“He just helps us out in so many ways; the attacking side we see the goal he scored in the 90th minute and then the defensive side as well. He’s really special to have.”

Livingston manager David Martindale praised Celtic’s performance and rubbished the notion that they have not been as good since Ange Postecoglou left the club.

“I watched them on Tuesday (in the Champions League against Feyenoord) and I thought they were fantastic in the press, trying to get the ball back,” he said.

“There have been a few things floating about ‘they are not the same’ or ‘they’ve not clicked’, but I think you saw a wee bit of a change with the Champions League and then today.

“I think they showed true character and true spirit when they went down to 10 men. But we shoot ourselves in the foot by giving away a really avoidable second goal. When I look at all three goals, they’re really avoidable.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed a “monumental” victory as his team ran out 3-0 winners away to Livingston with 10 men.

A Reo Hatate penalty had the visitors ahead before Joe Hart was shown the first red card of his career for fouling Mo Sangare.

The setback, though, did not affect Celtic and second-half goals from Matt O’Riley and Daizen Maeda sealed a professional win.

Rodgers said: “It was a monumental win in terms of getting back in after playing with nine men during the week [in the Champions League against Feyenoord].

“Livingston is a notoriously hard place to come anyway, never mind with 10 men, so to play with that mentality was very good.

“Attitude and energy are what you need and that is what we had. You don’t get points here for style. You have to dig in and be resilient.

“I thought we played well on a difficult surface and stylistically I thought we played better on the surface with 10 men.

“We always have a plan for that in terms of how we work, how we keep the calmness. I thought the players were outstanding.

“We added to that with two really good goals in the second half. As I said to the guys, when you have Daizen Maeda, it is not like playing with 10 men.

“He does the running of two men, he is absolutely incredible and I was so happy for him that he got his goal. He was so good on the day for us.”

Livingston manager David Martindale felt his team had played better when Celtic had their full complement on the pitch and expressed his frustration at losing a second goal so early into the second half.

He said: “In all honesty, we were probably better 11 v 11. Then the second goal comes after only two minutes in the second half.

“And then momentum goes back in Celtic’s favour. In the second half after that second goal, I think Celtic were worth their money. I thought they worked a lot harder than us all over the park.

“Their application, their endeavour and their desire were probably a lot better than what we showed against 10 men. Sitting here, I’m hugely frustrated at the result, but I don’t think we deserved more from the game in all honesty.”

Reo Hatate’s penalty and second-half goals from Matt O’Riley and Daizen Maeda helped Celtic to a 3-0 win at Livingston despite losing Joe Hart to a first-half red card.

The former England goalkeeper fouled Mo Sangare just outside of the penalty box and was sent off by referee John Beaton.

That left Brendan Rodgers’ side to play the final hour with just 10 men but they never looked in any real danger as Livingston failed to take advantage of their numerical supremacy.

Their manager David Martindale had made two changes from the team that had drawn 1-1 with Ross County the previous weekend.

In came Sangare and Scott Pittman, replacing Mikey Devlin and Stephen Kelly.

There was only one change to the Celtic starting line-up from their Champions League loss to Feyenoord and it was a surprising one, James Forrest handed his first start since January as Luis Palma dropped out.

The first chance came for Celtic but Hatate’s low dribbler lacked the power to trouble Shamal George in the home goal.

Livingston replied with a fierce Bruce Anderson drive that Hart did well to parry, with Callum McGregor booting Pittman’s rebound effort off the line.

The opening goal, however, came at the other end after 13 minutes. Luiyi de Lucas needlessly brought down Hatate and Beaton immediately awarded the penalty.

Hatate chose to take it himself and his effort squeezed under George’s body to give Celtic the lead.

The goalkeeper was unfortunate there but proved his worth shortly after as he rushed out to block Maeda’s shot from close range.

The next piece of drama unfolded at the other. Sangare reached James Penrice’s ball ahead of Hart, the goalkeeper bringing him down clumsily on the edge of the box.

Beaton flashed a red card and VAR did not change the decision, reducing Celtic to 10 men for the remaining hour of the match. Forrest was sacrificed to allow Scott Bain to come on.

Penrice took the resultant free-kick but curled it into the side netting before Ayo Obileye had a dig from distance that Bain stopped well.

Livingston began the second half looking to capitalise on their extra man but instead found themselves further behind less than three minutes later.

Maeda failed to turn in Kyogo Furuhashi’s cross from close range but O’Riley helped him out by lashing in the rebound.

Joel Nouble then tried to lob Bain after a mistake by the substitute goalkeeper but his attempt drifted just over the crossbar as Livi failed to mount any kind of response.

Instead there was still time for Celtic to claim a third in injury time with Maeda finishing well from distance.