Chris Sutton in passionate Celtic and Scottish football row as 'elitist' English mentality gets taken to task

Chris Sutton has launched an impassioned defence of Brendan Rodgers, Celtic and Scottish football.

The Record Sport columnist took issue with a Daily Mail column written by It's All Kicking Off podcast co-host Ian Ladyman last week, which questioned why Rodgers had returned to Celtic in order to simply try and replicate the achievements in his first spell before jumping ship to Leicester City. That got Sutton's goat, who accused his podcasting colleague of "elitism" and "patronising Scottish football fans".

Ladyman had pointed out that Celtic were thumped 6-0 by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, before walloping Aberdeen by the same scoreline on their return to domestic action at the weekend, to move 19 points clear of third placed St Mirren. He suggested that Celtic were "far too good" for the Scottish Premiership, but not good enough to mix it with the big boys at Europe's top table. But Sutton questioned why the continental failures of England’s big clubs were omitted, and pointed to Manchester City's dominance of the English Premier League in recent seasons as being no different to Celtic's north of the border.

"I think you're an excellent journalist but you've got this badly wrong. It's a really stupid argument here. Where do you want to go with this? Manchester City have won the Premier League for five out of the last six seasons.

"It was interesting in a European week that you chose to have a pop at Celtic. I saw your article and it was a pop at Celtic and a pop at Scottish football.

"In a week when Manchester United, who have spent over £400million, lose to the minnows of Copenhagen, you chose not to mention that. Newcastle United have spent a fortune and are bottom of their Champions League group, but you