BRENDAN DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION BY DENS DEFEAT

BRENDAN RODGERS reckons he's been lobbed the keys to a spluttering banger but must soup up his Celtic side to get back into pole position.

- MICHAEL GANNON

The Hoops boss, inset, is facing the toughest test of his two spells at Parkhead with Hearts speeding into a five-point lead in the title race after his side slipped to a dismal 2-0 defeat at Dundee yesterday.

Celtic fans delayed the game with a tennis ball protest against the club's board while Rodgers admitted his side needs major repair work ahead of a huge week with Sturm Graz up in the Europa League ahead of Sunday's mammoth showdown with the Jambos at Tynecastle.

He said: "In the summer, we lost a lot of firepower, a lot of goals out of the team. And there's no way you'll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, 'I want you to drive it like a Ferrari'. It's not going to happen.

"So, until something changes, I have to find the solutions. Because, like I said, goals, speed, everything has come out of the team. And we need to find a way to be better." Celtic fans are continuing their feud with the club's board over the botched summer transfer window.