Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic are strong enough to absorb injury problems

Leigh Griffiths has a hamstring injury which will sideline him while Scott Brown could also miss out.

“I always say to the players, we don’t need to be heroes,” said Rodgers. “If you have an issue or a problem or feel it’s tight then we can get you off. We have a bench, that’s what the squad is about.

“We will see how he [Scott] is. Obviously we want him playing on Tuesday. You saw Scotty’s performance today. Scott Brown does his talking on the field.”

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And among the pats on the back for Brown – who described the win over Rangers on Saturday as “men against boys” – was a diplomatic dig at the bluster that has emanated from Joey Barton since his arrival at Rangers.

“He [Scott] leads the team and is a very respectful guy. He bossed the game in the middle of the park today. He showed his power and strength and his qualities. Of course I want that in every game but if he is not able to play then someone else will have to come in. But let’s wait and see.”

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One of those could be Stuart Armstrong. Rodgers revealed that he had told the former Dundee United man to be ready to get the call from the bench after Tom Rogic had had a gruelling international schedule.

Rogic had an impressive opening period but faded as the game went on.

“Tom has been to Australia in the last two weeks, then played a game in Dubai,” said the Celtic manager. “So I felt I was going to only get 55 minutes to an hour out of him. I said to Stuart Armstrong on Friday ‘make sure you’re ready,’ because I felt he could make a real impact.

“He maybe went on earlier than I thought but I felt we needed more energy to press the game and break forward. And it worked out quite well.

“But what we seen was the spirit within this team. All footballers want to play.”

And the Hoops boss also took satisfaction from seeing Moussa Dembele and Armstrong take a little acclaim. The latter’s confidence took a hit last season when he was repeatedly played on the left, but Rodgers’ remarks suggest he will get a chance in his favoured role.

“The two guys who have really come up trumps for us today are two guys who have been on the sides a little bit,” said Rodgers. “It’s my job as the manager to make sure they very much feel a part of things.

“For me at this early stage it’s been about finding out what is Stu’s best position. I know he’s worked off the left, the right and from centrally as a two.

“For me his best position is in the No10 position where he has the energy to press the game and break forward. So I’m delighted for him, he should feel good after his contribution.”

Saturday’s game was the anniversary of the death of Jock Stein as well as the fifth anniversary of Malachy Rodgers, the Celtic manager’s father.

“One of his [Stein’s] quotes talks about how football is only ever about getting the two points. Back then that’s what you got for winning.

“But when I spoke to the players before the game I said ‘for us it’s about getting the three points. But when you beat one of your rivals it’s a wee bit sweeter, and that was the message. It was primarily about the guy looking down, the man who set the tone for this club, the template.

“We said that if his is looking down make sure we do him proud.”