Brendan Rodgers says that the Celtic players cannot allow supporter discontent with the club’s board to distract them from their title bid, after the champions spilled points against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

The travelling support unveiled a banner and repeatedly chanted criticism of the Celtic board both before and after the 1-1 draw, with their anger sparked by the lack of signings during the January transfer window.

One of the two new players, Nick Kuhn, did score after coming off the bench, hitting the equaliser after being teed up by fellow new arrival Adam Idah.

The fans nevertheless made their feelings clear throughout the afternoon, and Rodgers says that his men can’t have their focus affected by what is going on in the stands.

“I can only concentrate on the players and what we do on the field,” Rodgers said.

“You always find that winning games and playing well can ease those situations and that’s what we aim to do.

“Supporters pay their money and have every right to say what they want to say.

“But for us, we can only control what we do on the pitch. If we do that we’ll be OK.

“The key thing is not allowing it to become a distraction for us. That’s really important. Whatever goes on outside, you have to be able to deal with it.

“At a club like Celtic, at the biggest clubs, there will always be that pressure there. I don’t need to add any more on to the players. They understand that playing for Celtic brings that.

“My job is to give them the confidence to find the results we need.

“There’s still a long way to go.”