Brendan Rodgers Fires Back at Steven Gerrard Comments as Old Firm Rivalry Spices Up Early

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has denied claims made by Steven Gerrard that he entered Liverpool's crucial clash with Chelsea in the 2013/14 season in an 'overconfident' mood.

The loss to Chelsea was a season defining moment for the Reds, with the club's title chase tailing away after Gerrard's slip led to Demba Ba scoring Chelsea's opener at Anfield.

Rodgers was keen to set the story straight in an interview with the Times, insisting: “I don’t think I was more or less confident. We’d won 11 on the bounce. You want to go in with confidence.”

The Celtic manager also made it known that even if Liverpool had won the title that year, he would've been sacked anyway, adding: “I would still have been sacked for sure. You only need to look at the evidence all around. Not in modern football. Not in new football.”

The Northern Irishman would last only one more season after Liverpool's capitulation, and was replaced by Jurgen Klopp in October of 2015.

Rodgers' comments are bound to ramp up tensions (not that they needed it) between Rangers and Celtic, with Steven Gerrard recently confirmed as Gers boss. His first job as Rangers manager will be to close the gulf in quality between the Glasgow clubs.