NO manager survives at the top of the game without being able to retain the courage of his convictions in the face of fierce criticism.

So it is no surprise that Brendan Rodgers, who spent spells in charge of Swansea City and Liverpool in England before joining Celtic, is not about to be deterred by his detractors.

Rodgers has come under more intense scrutiny following the 2-1 defeat that his side suffered to Kilmarnock in the Ladbrokes Premiership at Rugby Park on Sunday than at any stage previously in his tenure in Glasgow.

The poor display and loss came after a reverse to Hearts at Tynecastle last month and a draw to struggling St Mirren in Paisley nine days before and left the defending champions languishing in sixth place in the top flight table.

Time, many supporters and pundits have since suggested, for a change of tactics.

Yet, Rodgers is refusing to be swayed and alter a game plan that has enabled the Parkhead club to win all six of the domestic trophies they have competed for during his reign to date.

“I tend not to get too carried away when we win or too down when we lose,” he said yesterday as he looked ahead to a Betfred Cup quarter-final against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park this evening that Celtic need to win to silence a growing disquiet.

“Of course, you are disappointed, but we have a blueprint here that, when executed well, we know succeeds for us. We’re not quite at the level at the moment consistently, but we’ll get there.

“ I hear all of this. But you have beliefs. If you are an attacking coach, you are an attacking coach. One thing you can never have is doubt. If you fall into that trap, you have an issue, a problem.

“I’ve worked in coaching all my life, since I was 20 years of age, and these are principles that I believe in. They have brought us a relative amount of success, so I don’t think there is any need to change.”

Rodgers added: “Any manager worth his salt has a plan to win. If you then start changing it then I would always question the strength of a manager’s confidence in terms of how they work.

“We will always look to maintain our identity. Our identity is of a big club, which is you have impose your game and look to win.

“For me, there is no compromise. I said it when we were winning, and I say it now we have lost a game. There is no compromise. We attack and we always look to find way to attack the game.”

Rodgers, whose Celtic side have scored just six goals in six league games, denied that he needs to change to a more direct style of play for his side to get back to winning ways.

“It is very much a modern thing,” he said. “What is Plan B? Normally it is the total reversal of what you do.

“Of course you tweak. You do lots of that within games. From time to time it’s been a wee bit stiff and wee bit rigid, but us at our best, there’s lots of variety.

“Sometimes the ball will end up getting played longer and deeper and there are ways to do that, but Plan A has many variations.”

He referred to the goal that Celtic scored against Rosenborg in their opening Europa League game last week – when Scott Brown shelled a long ball to Dedryck Boyata who nodded it down for Leigh Griffiths to head in – to drive home his point.

“Was that Plan B or was that just a decision made by a player on the pitch?” he said. “In modern football, if that was the best way to win, then why do people not do it from the start? It’s not what we do.”

Rodgers admitted in a radio interview following the Kilmarnock match on Sunday that Celtic fans would be alarmed by the unconvincing performances of his charges. But he clarified that statement yesterday and stressed that he himself was not panicking.

“I probably never explained myself well enough,” he said. “I think if you have lost two games in your first six they will be alarmed at that. I’m not going to deny that. But what I am doing in terms of the bigger picture is staying calm with it all.

“But I’m asked the question ‘would Celtic supporters be alarmed?’ Well, yes, they would be purely because of the starts we’ve had these last couple of years. And also because of the indifferent start we’ve had this season.

“But in relation to the bigger picture there are 32 games to go. We have two cup competitions to be in and we will be judged at the end of the season. So alarming because of the indifferent start, but not everything else.

“You stay calm and focussed and concentrated and its up to us as a team and the manager to make us play better. There is a difference between fans being alarmed and me being alarmed. That’s my point. Will fans be alarmed? Yes they will. Am I? No.”

The latest financial results released by Celtic last week show the wage bill at Parkhead is just under £60 million a year – far higher than any of their Scottish rivals.

Rodgers accepts they should win the Betfred Cup, Premiership and William Hill Scottish Cup as a result of their superior resources but welcomes the demands on him and his team to land silverware.

“Listen, we can’t run away from it,” he said. “If you are paying good wages and you’ve got the squad you will be expected to do something. You are expected to win. That’s never something that I have run away from.

“I’m not sure what’s been out there in terms of what the wage bill is but, for me, we always expect.

“That’s the job of the Celtic manager - and in particular since I’ve come in these last few years.”