BRENDAN RODGERS last night took a thinly veiled swipe at Pedro Caixinha who shocked the Celtic manager by arguing with Scott Brown rather than talking his own players at half-time during Saturday’s Old Firm game.

The Rangers manager sought out Celtic’s captain because the Portuguese perceived the midfielder to have swung an elbow at Alfredo Morelos during the first-half.

Rodgers found this behaviour “surprising” because he believes a manager’s place at that time was in the dressing room,which is where he was when the incident took place.

And he strongly backed Brown who didn’t back down when approached by Caixinha as he walked off the pitch at the weekend.

Rodgers said: “I didn’t see it until afterwards, to be honest. Obviously I was surprised when I saw it because at half-time as a manager you want to get in a quick as you can because it’s a vital period for you, to get your message to your players and get ready for that.

“I think Broony has been outstanding since I’ve been here, especially in all seven of the Rangers games. He is a big game player and in particular at Ibrox he’s been outstanding.

“Like I say, it’s not something you really want to see, to be honest. As a manager you want to get in and get your work done and get the message to your players.

“Broony was brilliant in the game and he’s a good guy.”