Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

See if it had been we drew with Leipzig and beat Brugge we would all be buzzing to be on 8 points in fact after Dortmund if we had been sitting here on 6 I would have been happy looking at fixtures then.

I have maintained I felt Brugge was an acid test game for us. A club who have been doing what we have been aspiring to do in Europe in recent times.

In some aspects we failed that test last night in that we were poor in our performance but in others I take confidence that we got something out that game. The BMG home 2-0 defeat from 16/17 came to mind at 1-0 down last night from a stupid mistake. Not playing well, but in a stuffy game with few chances, being passed around us a bit, it all felt very similar.

The one thing that wasn’t the same is we found a way to get an equaliser and by the end of the game looked the more likely to win it. To me that is progress, in our last 3 games we have actually finished looking the team more likely to do something or at least comfortable in the game including Atalanta away.

Yes we need to be better on and off the ball when playing technically superior teams and our decision making needs to improve but we literally kicked the ball in our own net last night, played poorly for an hour and still never lost the game.

Reflecting back on it I am disappointed in the performance as I feel we let them settle and play their game. They were technically good and well drilled but much like the Bodo/Glimt game a couple of years back I feel we made them look better than they really were. But I do see signs of progress that we didn’t get beat and as I say finished looking the more likely to win it.

 

It's been a 9/10 season so far, but if I had any criticisms of him so far, it's having favourites and not making subs earlier.

On the latter point, he does make subs around the 60 minute mark and they do usually make a difference, but if we brought Bernardo and Valle on straight away yesterday, I think we go on and win it, there was no real reason to keep Engels and Taylor on after their performance.

Continually playing Engels and Taylor over better players is really poor. It's not doing Engels any favours at all and is keeping a better player in Bernardo on the bench, there was no reason for Taylor to come straight back into the team after Valle's recent performances.

He's been fantastic this season and I do think he'll change it up going forward, he did after Dortmund.

 

Improving how we approach CL/European games is the biggest improvement for me. Was said last year but I honestly didn't really see a huge difference.

This campaign, being able to recover from Dortmund and change of tactics for Atlanta I'd give Rodgers the credit. Wednesday wasn't great but think that was more down to the players than the manager, excepting playing Engels.

Better football, better approach, better squad and tactics - obviously want to go as far as possible but that's a huge leap forwards if we can maintain it across seasons.

 

Brendan Rodgers has turned his attention back to the Scottish Premiership for this weekend’s home match against Ross County.

The Hoops are currently two points clear at the top of the table, having played one game less than nearest challengers, Aberdeen, and the aim is to secure another three points this weekend.

The match comes on the back of a tough midweek UEFA Champions League tie against Club Brugge, and the manager was delighted with the way his team tackled that challenge and battled for a point against a very difficult opponent.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game, Brendan Rodgers said: “I think Ross County will be very determined.

“I know Don very well, and he was my first ever signing as a manager when I was manager at Watford, and he did brilliantly for me there.

“So I’ve known him since those days and always been in contact with him and followed him. He worked closely with Malky and now he’s gone out on his own, and I think he’s done a really good job.

“The game that we played up there, I think it could be a similar type of game.

'They were super-organised, they all knew their job and their role, and we had to work very hard at the end to get the result.'

“So I will expect a similar game and they will carry a threat in various moments, but we’re at home and we love playing at home.

"We want to showcase our energy and our attitude in the game and that’s what we’ll look to bring, but it will be a tough game for sure


There are no injury worries ahead of Saturday’s clash with Ross County, and the manager’s starting XI will be selected from a strong squad.

And Brendan Rodgers also addressed some criticism which has come the way of Arne Engels recently.

“The most recent example of that was Paulo Bernardo,” he said. “It was exactly the same, if I remember back – highlighting Paulo and his performances this time last year, and now he can’t be cheered on loud enough when he enters on to the pitch.

'That’s called development. It’s called patience. It’s called time.'

“Arne’s a fantastic young player, otherwise we wouldn’t have brought him here. He doesn’t set the price, he’s come here to a big club to improve his game and I have absolutely no doubt that he will do that.

“I know it won’t be the case but I would hope that people will learn their lesson – the same people that were writing off Paulo Bernardo and Nicolas Kuhn – you have to look and see that development will take time.

“Some will hit the ground running and be fine and adapt perfect, but not everyone is like that and especially a young player, so I’ve been really pleased since he’s come in because I know the future for him – he will improve, he will develop and get better – and I’ve seen it so many times.

“It’s always the pressure when you up here to play, the scrutiny is on you and you’re going to have your critics.

“Sometimes it’s deserved and sometimes it’s not, and a lot of the time you don’t have the last word, but you do have your chance on the pitch to show what you can do.

“But like every player, whether they’re young or old, you’re not immune to it. You know what’s been said but Arne only really needs to worry about his team-mates and ourselves, and his development and coaching, and he’s such a young player with a lot of potential, and that’s why we brought him here.”

 

Ange should give him a call and ask how to play exciting football and keep it tight at the back

 

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with a "complete" performance as his team surged to a five-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership by dismantling Ross County at Parkhead.


Rodgers made six changes from the side that drew with Club Brugge in midweek, showcasing his squad depth as each player made a positive impact.

Four out of the five scorers from a devastating five-goal first half were newbies into the starting XI.

Liam Scales opened the scoring with a powerful header from a corner, followed by a deflected goal from the impressive Luke McCowan.

Paulo Bernardo netted the third before captain Callum McGregor ensured it would be a convincing three points for the reigning champions by rifling beyond the Ross County goalkeeper from around 20-yards, marking his sixth league goal of the season.

The first half concluded with a thumping finish from Adam Idah, extending Celtic's unbeaten domestic run to 28 games since March



I thought it was the complete performance," Rodgers told BBC Scotland.

"I said before the game that this was a game where we didn't want to be waiting on the game. We wanted to go and create the possibilities, and I thought we were outstanding in that front.

"What's really pleasing was the pressing mentality, the hunger of the team. Three of our goals in the first half come from transitions. We are in possession, we lose it, and then we get the ball back very quickly and that creates opportunities for us to score.

"In the second half, in all fairness, we could've had the same, but you've got to give credit to Ross County. They defended really well, their keeper made some great saves, we hit the crossbar twice, the post.

"So, for a complete 90 minutes, that was so good on the back end of a really tough Champions League game in midweek. For the players to show that hunger, I was so proud of them."


Rodgers was keen to praise McCowan, who’s had to bide his time for regular minutes since arriving from Dundee on Deadline Day.

"He's really settled in well," the Celtic boss explained. "He's had to be patient. He gets his reward for how hard he works.

"It tells you everything about him that he comes in and for 70-odd minutes he's so good, his pressing, energy and quality.

 

Laughing Brendan Rodgers reckons Santa won't be facing the Celtic boo boys this Christmas - as he hailed the "development" of his side in the last 12 months.

Ross County couldn’t control the relentless Hoops on their own patch as they moved five points clear at the top of the table thanks to goals from Liam Scales, Luke McCowan, Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor and Adam Idah - but it could have been more with the Hoops carving out a host of chances to move five points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership. But the boss noted that it was only in January this year that that the Parkhead punters jeered the Celtic players after a narrow 1-0 victory over the Staggies with Rangers piling on the title pressure



He told BBC Sportsound: "It's not lost on me that we won here about 12 months ago and got booed off, when we only won 1-0, but that is the standard of performance you need at Celtic. It's not just about the scoreboard. It's about the level of game. So, if you look 12 months on and see the level of performance and the result it tells you that we are moving in the right direction."

Rodgers was then asked "if Santa would be booed this time around" - after Father Christmas took stick at half-time last December during Celtic's 2-0 defeat to Hearts. He laughed: "Hopefully not, hopefully not.


It was a challenging little period for us but the game is all about development, and it's all about improvement. And you see the improvement in this squad and the mentality it takes to play and have the robustness to get win after win

 

Poor santa

Still might boo him for a laugh though

 

Needs a jacket to fit him

 

Brendan Rodgers has challenged his Celtic squad to keep the foot down at Pittodrie and build on the blockbuster start to the season.

The Hoops can blast seven points clear of Aberdeen with a win in the north east and are currently AHEAD of they were at the same point in the famous Invincibles’ season. Celts have banked the same number of points after 13 games as 2016 but have a better goal difference this term.


Rodgers insisted staging a sensational repeat is not yet on his mind – and he doesn’t want his side to rest on their laurels. He said: “I never say complacency, but contentment is something you don’t want to have. You don’t want to be content and happy. You want to be constantly improving and developing

That’s what we want to do as a club. In the last couple of windows we’ve been able to energise the squad and bring it to a level that allows us to work like at the moment. We have to look beyond that to the future. There was obviously a goal setting process back then.


Now we are pretty clear it’s more individual work with players and targets. It was no real secret back then… one was a Treble! I’m pretty sure we achieved them all.

“I think the consistent level of the team has been really high. That was a long time ago and you learn, as a coach, from those experiences. But these players can write their own history. That group was brilliant for me but the challenge is to create more historical moments as we go along.


“It took time to get going but it’s been a really high level the past couple of months and we need to keep it going.

Rodgers rotated his squad at the weekend and hit Ross County for five and could shuffle again at Pittodrie to keep his side on their toes. He said: “I wouldn’t say it’s tricks – it’s more taking them on the journey and the story about what we want to achieve and finding the various ways to stimulate and make sure they are ready going into each game.

You can never lay off that. Consistency is always the challenge when you play so often. You have to perform. A draw is no good, there’s always the demand to perform well and win.

“That is a challenge physically and mentally. We have players who are accustomed to it and some who are new to it. That’s our job to help them through it.”


Celtic can strike a huge blow to Aberdeen’s hopes – and pile more pressure on Rangers with another win. But Rodgers said: “There is such a long way to go


If we win the game, okay, we get a bit of a gap. But there are so many games to go. It’s always nice if you can go to one of your rivals and put in a good performance and get the points.

“We can only worry about ourselves. You can’t worry what other people think. That’s our notion going into every game. It’s to work even harder than we did on Saturday



Every game is an opponent for us to impose our style on the game. We know it will be tough, the crowd will be very vocal behind their team. But we’ve played in difficult grounds and atmospheres and coped very well.”

Aberdeen are the only domestic side to take points off the Parkhead men when they battled back from two down to * a draw at Celtic Park. The Hoops ran amok in a 6-0 Premier Sports Cup semi-final thrashing but Rodgers is gearing up for a scrap in the Granite City.


He said: “In the first game we went a bit slack and got punished but over the two games we created a lot of chances. Its away from home and every away game against the top teams is a challenge. But I expect us to go and create the game and give Aberdeen problems from the first whistle

 

How are the players looking from the weekend ahead of this game? Are they all available for tomorrow?

We’ve only got Scott Bain out, who has a little bit of illness. Apart from that, all our outfield players are ready and available.

You made six changes at the weekend and it didn't seem like it at all. The team were pretty seamless. Are we expecting to see many changes again now that we're coming into December and there's going to be so many games?

Yeah, I think over the course of the coming months that it's very, very important for us to have the energy in the game, because of how we play. That's what we think about every time we go into each game. The boys at the weekend were absolutely superb.

The attitude, the energy in the game, right from the first whistle. How they pressed the game, how they attacked the game. It was a very, very good performance. We just recover and then look at the next team for the next game.

How much are you and the team looking forward to this top-of-the-table clash at Pittodrie?

It's always a challenge going to Pittodrie. Obviously, they've done very well this season.

The last week or so are maybe not the results they would have wanted, but still they've made a very, very good start. Jimmy's done a fantastic job there.

They are very structured in how they play, very clear in the process and how they want to work. So, we expect a really tough game


In terms of the previous matches you've played against them, they were two very different games. How do you expect the game to shape up? Do you expect it to be similar to either of those two games or different entirely?

I don't know. I can only control what we want to do in the game and that's bring a really positive attitude and attacking attitude. I think the first game at home when we drew 2-2, we were a bit slack and we got punished for that.

Over the course of the two games, we created a lot of opportunities to score and were defensively strong apart from in those couple of moments. But it's away from home and every game away from home, especially the top teams, it's always a challenge. So, we'll expect that there but I also expect us to, from the first whistle, really go to create the game and look to give Aberdeen problems




Is it the best position a manager could want to be in? The team’s winning, big games coming up up, Champions League, League Cup final, players desperate to play.

Yeah, it's what you want. What was great about the weekend was it shows you that football really is a process.

If you look at the likes of Luke McCowan who's only just come in, he's adapted his style in order to play for us. He has a winning mentality, he has great technical quality, tactically he's learning all the time and you see now the clarity in his work and how good he was. He was fantastic for Dundee but was able to come into here and step-by-step throughout a process he's now come in and absolutely been first class.

He and the other players that came in have done very, very well but they're not cover players. I would have absolutely no hesitation in starting the same team at Aberdeen tomorrow night.

However, we always have to plan for the games and the proximity of the games and obviously over the course of the coming months.


I noticed after the games you were speaking to him, it looked as though he was asking you questions about specifics. It looks like he's eager to learn. Was that the case?

It was just on the pressing one towards the end of the game, we'd sort of shifted our pressing structure and he was just getting clarity around that there. He's a learner, there's absolutely no doubt about that. He's got a great career ahead of him.

He has all the tools. I think coming in it's not an easy adaptation to come into a big club with a big expectation and pressure. But he's settled in really, really well.

He’s now one of us because I see this winning mentality. I see the hunger he has to learn. I see the humbleness every day and how hard he works.

He knows whether he comes off the bench or whether he starts a game, the opportunity is there for him to make an impact. It's so important to have guys that are hungry and want to learn.


That says a lot for him, doesn't it? He could have easily just taken the applause but he was trying to find little things to make him better.

He's a real joy to work with. I think when you've got guys like Callum McGregor and that here, you create more Callum McGregors. That's why you have top, top professionals. And the learning that he will get on a day-to-day basis from seeing the likes of Cal and working with the coaches and myself, then you have to be curious, you have to want to learn and he's certainly one of those.


If Luke keeps this up, could he get international recognition with Scotland too?

Yeah, I don't think there's any question of that. I think if you look at the tools that he has. International level for me is about technique, tactical idea and having a level of speed that allows you to get around the field. So you'll have some really good players but just maybe aren't quite cut out for that mobility and fast pace at the international level.

Luke has that. If I look at him technically, and physically. That was the analysis that we did before bringing him in to see where he was at in terms of his running power, his physicality. So that's there at a really, really high level. So we know he can do that.

Technically, he's finding the comfort now in the game. Tactically, like I said, he's shown that you see how quickly now he's adapted.

Him and Paulo Bernardo were brilliant at the weekend in terms of how they linked together. So that tells you he's learning all the concepts and principles of how we play. He has personality.

There's absolutely no doubt if you play for Celtic, he's going to be able to play for Scotland for sure.


You've got two players for each position. Do you have to keep persevering and saying, look, we can still get better?

Always, yeah. Because you always have to, I think, at every moment you can. I never say complacency, but contentment is something that you don't want to have. You don't want to be content, you don't want to be happy. You always have to be improving and developing. And that's something that we as a club want to be able to do.

I think we've been able to, in the last couple of windows, really energise the squad and bring it to a level that allows us to work with how we're working at the moment. But like I say, we always have to look beyond that and look to the future


When you get a performance like Saturday after making six changes, does it give you certain thoughts and questions about what team you'll pick for the really big games as well? Are players making it really difficult for you to make these selections?

I had in my mind what the Aberdeen team was going to be irrespective of the weekend. But it's always nice whenever the players do come in and perform and really confirm their qualities and how they can work. That was the beauty of the weekend. It was so fluid, it was so fast and the tempo was really, really good.

It created a lot of opportunities to score more than we did. And like I said, that's what you want. You want your players to come in and perform and every single one of them did that.

In order to keep the energy in the team and how you want, someone can do absolutely brilliant in that game, but it might only be a couple of days later. It’s something that is so important, especially how we play.



How big is this encounter in terms of what the ramifications could be in terms of league race, even this early?

It's still such a long way to go. At this moment in time if we win the game, ok, you get a bit of a gap against the team behind you.

But it's still such a long way to go and so many games. I think it's always nice if you can go to one of your rivals and put in a good performance and get the points


Is it more the psychological damage you can inflict on others rather than what you can get for yourself?

You can only worry about yourself. You can't control what other people think.

I think you can only go and look to perform. That’s our notion getting into every game. Our objective getting into the game is to work even harder than we did Saturday and perform.

So really that's all we can think about. Every game is an opportunity for us to impose our style in the game. We know it will be a tough game.

We know the crowd will be very vocal behind their team. It’s still a big opportunity for us. We've played in difficult grounds and difficult atmospheres and coped really well


Do you have to use different methods to get into of your players' minds at times to keep their standards so high?

I think it's more taking them on the journey and the story and what it is we want to achieve. And finding the various ways to stimulate and make sure they're ready. The players work ever so hard on a daily basis. Coaches do a brilliant job in repeating our patterns of play and our work and our creativity. That's all great. You have to provide the stimulus for players getting into each game and providing the story that hopefully can allow them to push on.

That's a constant for the manager. You can never lay off that. So that is something that clearly a lot of thinking time goes into.


When you get to a few games a week, is it survival of the fittest? You're maybe more accustomed to that than some other teams are. Is it just mental and physical endurance?

I think consistency is always the challenge. Especially when you're playing so often. At clubs like ourselves, it always is a challenge because you have to perform. A draw is no good. The attitude here is always to win and win well. There's clearly a big demand on the physical side of that and mental.

Like you say, we've got players that are accustomed to it, players that will be new to it. That's our job to help them and bring them through and support them. And like I said, sometimes to come out of the team, to recover mentally and physically, but to be ready to go again in the next game. That’s the careful management of it.


In 2016, you had your seven secret targets. Is that something you would use again or a different time?

That was obviously a goal setting process that we had in place back then. I think now we're pretty clear on that. It's probably more individual work with players and individual targets for them.

What's very important is improving the individual player. But no specific tricks.



I think you're tracking, this season, ahead of where you were in that 2016/17 season which shows you the start you’ve had.

I think the consistency and the level of the team has been really high. Again, that's great. It was a long time ago, that sort of season. You learn, even as a coach and manager, from all those experiences.

But this group of players will be writing their own history. That group then were absolutely brilliant for me. And now the challenge for this group is creating more historical moments as we go along. What is always important, like I said, is how we play. And that obviously took a bit of time to get going last year and get us working.

Over the last number of months, really, the consistency and the level has been a really high level. So, we just have to keep that going. We're strong defensively and that creates a great platform for all the attacking play.


In terms of improvement, do you expect to do much in January? In terms of bringing in more or are you quite satisfied with where you're at?

We’re definitely looking. There are still areas that I would like to improve in the squad. Absolutely no question about that. We can't do everything in the summer one.

We've done a lot of great work there. But there's definitely one or two areas just to, again, give that freshness to the squad as well and give that quality. So, it's important that we keep building.

All the players will learn, develop, they'll get better. But you need to always provide competition and that's something I'll always look at


You were just talking about the team writing their own history. The team are undefeated, you’ve got the cup final coming up. And given that you're doing so well in Europe as well, do you feel that there is an opportunity for you and your squad to have their best ever season?

It's still such a long way to go. But what we've done is we've made a brilliant start. It only takes something to go against you, a sending off or a bit of bad luck, whatever. But there's no doubt, I think the first steps on the journey are always the most important. To get to the very top, you've got to make those initial first steps well. The players have done that really, really well.

They haven’t had everything their own way. I think the mark of this team was how we came back from the Dortmund game. The response to that. The response to a huge setback.

That's when you see your players and that's when you see your captain. That tells you everything about this team. About how they've been able to bounce back from that. That tells you that the spirit in the squad is very strong. And it's only going to grow and get better each week.


There’s a report this morning that Luis Palma is apparently attracting interest from America, how do you view his position in your squad?

I haven’t seen anything on that but there's nothing really to comment on it. Luis hasn't played a great deal of late. He’s still a part of the squad. There's nothing else more. He's a good guy. It's been difficult for him.

Players have come into his position where he's played and done really well. If you look at the goal return of Daizen this year, the pressing and all this side of it.

He was out for a few weeks injured then Yang comes in and does really, really well. But he's working hard every day. He's a good guy. He's well liked within the squad. But of course, I can only pick a certain amount of players. But he will continue to work and may get the opportunity as we go along

 

The key selection for Rodgers will Zagreb to the Cup Final.. I suppose we do have 2 days extra recovery from the Tuesday to the Sunday..

 

Barring any injuries I could see it being a similar team that start both those games and the game tomorrow night.

I think the line up for Hibs on Saturday will be similar to the team that played Ross County. After the cup final we get a week off before going to Tanadice and then despite having a game every 3/4 days we have 4 of our next 5 at home with the trip to Ibrox in between. I could see a pattern where we play the Champions league team vs Motherwell at home; the changed team vs St Johnstone, CL team at Ibrox, Changed team at home to St Mirren and then CL team at home to Dundee Utd.

We then have Ross County and Dundee away before facing Killie at Home and then its Young boys so again I could see some rotation game to game to keep players fresh.

Obviously that will depend on form being maintained and keeping people fit but there is no one else in the league that come close to being able to essentially have very few players having to play 3 full games in a week.

Not to mention once we get to January there is the chance to add a player or two in place of someone who isn’t contributing.

 

So from those quotes

"I had in my mind what the Aberdeen team was going to be irrespective of the weekend"

It doesn't sound like he's going to stick with any of Valle, Scales, Bernardo, McCowan or Idah

I don't think that sends out the greatest of messages tbh, to stay highly motivated players need to know that there's a realistic opportunity for them to stake their claim for a starting place in the biggest games if they perform when given the opportunity, Taylor, Engels and Hatate have been poor for multiple games in a row now (Kilmarnock, Hearts, Club Brugge), no player should be undroppable, yet if Taylor, Engels and Hatate once again start tomorrow, they'll feel bulletproof regardless of performance levels whilst Valle, Bernardo and McCowan will be wondering what on earth they have to do when given an opportunity to displace those three for a run of games

 

I don’t hate it. He’s had a plan to make sure his team was fresh and ready for Aberdeen. It’s no guarantee these guys start against Zagreb for example. I think we will see Bernardo in for that game at least.

 

I don't think people are talking enough on how good we've been this season under him.

We've now won away at Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen, all places we've struggled in the past, add to that another pumping of the huns and 8 points so far in the CL.

11 points clear of them and were only just into December.

 

And motherwell