Brendan Fraudgers!

BR: “The guys out for the weekend are back. @eriksviat and @Leighgriff09 will be fit. Other than that we are fine."


BR: "Hopefully shown we have got better as group has gone on.


BR: "Proud of the players in how they've taken on board challenge of being in such a difficult group and how they have improved."


BR on #cityvceltic "Don’t see this as an end but another opportunity to learn and to take into next season’s #UCL competition."


BR on #UCL positives this season: "How the players have responded and gained confidence and performed well from Barca game."


BR: "Borussia away was a good marker for us going away and performing well."


BR: "Confidence at this level is vitally important also."



BR on final game: "It’s a big game, even though we’re disappointed that we’ve not got something to play for."


BR: "It’s a great game for our development. Made great strides forward.


BR: "For us to develop we need these types of games. It’s a great game, brilliant stadium, pitch is perfect."


BR: "It’s my optimistic look on the development of the team and the club."



BR: "We knew it’d be tough and the teams above us have huge quality and it’s a huge gulf (finances) but we want to be competitive."


BR: "That was a challenge this year but we coped and can we now show against a top class team that we can compete?"




TANGLING with Europe’s top stars in the UEFA Champions League this season has been a demanding and at times potentially daunting challenge for some of Celtic’s young players, according to Brendan Rodgers, but he also believes it has been a confidence-boosting experience for them.

The Irishman guided the Scottish champions back to the top table in Europe at the first time of asking after taking over in the summer and the Bhoys were grouped with some of the world’s best clubs as they made their return to the competition following a three-year absence.

Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach all stood in the way of the Hoops making it out of their group and, ultimately, the Celts will finish bottom after failing to get enough points to beat their continental competitors.

However, in each game following the sobering loss to Barcelona in the group opener, lessons have been learned and confidence has improved.

And ahead of Celtic’s final match in this season’s competition away to Manchester City tomorrow night, the boss of the Bhoys said his young players have come out the other side better for their difficult maiden voyage in Europe.

“When you look and see where a lot of the players have come from, a lot of them haven’t experienced this level so to make that jump, or that first game away, it can be very daunting,” he said from his team’s base in Manchester ahead of Tuesday’s match with City.

“The players have responded and gained confidence. They performed very well in the Barcelona game, even though we lost.

"Borussia away was much better and a good marker for us going away and performing well with that composure and quality, and then of course there was the Manchester City game where we couldn’t have played them at a worse time, where they were high on confidence and had won 10 straight games.

“So really, them coming to Celtic Park on that night when they hadn’t been on a better moment that season and for us to perform like we did, that gave the players not only technical and tactical belief but confidence and, at this level, confidence is vitally important also.”

 

BRENDAN Rodgers said last night that he is "living the dream" as manager of Celtic and his intention is to stay at the club for as long as he possibly can. The 43-year-old, who manages in England for the first time since his departure from Liverpool last November against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium tonight, has been a revelation in his six months in Scottish football thus far, a period which has seen Celtic make progress in the Champions League, claim the Bet Fred Cup and rack up a healthy lead as the Ladbrokes Premiership approaches halfway. While he faced questions upon his return to the North East as to whether his ambitions can ever be fully satisfied in the Scottish game, the Northern Irishman said he was as happy professionally and personally as he has been for a long time and hopes to stay for a "number of years".

“I don’t see it [the Celtic job] as a stepping stone," said Rodgers. "I see myself coaching for another 20-odd years and it is highly unlikely I will be at Celtic for another 20-odd years, given how football works. But my intention is to be at Celtic for as long as I possibly can to let the club grow and to take it as far as I can.

“It has huge potential and although there are financial restrictions, I am absolutely loving it in Scotland and working with Celtic," he added. "It may not have the profile of the Premier League but it doesn’t diminish the pride I have at being at Celtic and I hope I can continue for a number of years. For me, it’s about enjoying my life. Enjoying working with players who want to learn. I’m living the dream being the manager of Celtic."

 

So are we mate SO ARE WE

These are the days !

 

I really do enjoy listening to his interviews and hearing how he feels about being here. Maybe even more than I used to enjoy listening to Martin O'Neill when he was our manager. When I listen to Brendan talk I really do get the feeling that he's very relaxed and very happy to be here. Long may it continue.

 

I think if he leaves us it won't be too head back to England I could see him maybe testing himself in Spain
He's already managed one of the biggest clubs in England in Liverpool and unless one of the Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea or Spurs come knocking he wouldn't go back

 

BR: "Brilliant team performance. Started very well and led to a great opening goal."


BR: "Disappointed with the equaliser. We got stretched, which they can do."

BR: "Remainder of the game, how we pressed and forced them to play long balls, showed great composure."


BR: "Energy and quality was at high level. Disappointed we didn’t win as we had chances."


BR: "On the @ChampionsLeague campaign overall, delighted."


BR: "Objective was to qualify and knew the level we were at. Always said it was a team ready to learn."

BR: "Competing against two of the super powers of European football and haven’t been beaten by @ManCity."


BR: "Apart from the first game our performance levels have been good."

BR: "Arguably could have won both games. Now we look to go on and win the league and build for next year."

After praising @patrick7roberts and @Gary__11 the Celtic manager was asked about reaching the last 16 next year...


He said: "Need to qualify first. Need to go on and win the league then got to get through six qualifiers, then we’ll reflect."


BR: "There’s been hardly any players brought in. It’s these players growing in belief and confidence."


BR: "To come here and play that well was a huge credit but still a couple areas to improve in."




IN SIMILAR scenes to their last encounter with Manchester City, Celtic will look back on tonight’s 1-1 draw as a game where they could have taken all three points but the Hoops boss said he was simply delighted with his players at the conclusion of the UEFA Champions League campaign.

The one point gained by the Bhoys thanks to Patrick Roberts’ sensational opener inside five minutes, cancelled out by Kelechi Iheanacho’s leveller three minutes later, might have done nothing to change the Hoops' fate in this season’s competition but it did see the Celts finish their Group C matches with another promising result against Pep Guardiola’s City side, and leave them with food for thought for the months ahead.

“It was a brilliant team performance,” Brendan Rodgers said afterwards. “We started the game very well and had great composure. Manchester City want to press you and get close to you, but I thought our possession and control and positioning of the ball was very good and led to us getting a great opening goal, which we thoroughly deserved.

“I was disappointed with the equaliser. We got stretched, which they can do and are entitled to do, but for the remainder of the game, how we pressed and we forced them to play a lot of long balls, winning the ball back and building our game up (was great).

“We showed great composure when we had to build it so the energy and quality was at high level so I’m disappointed we didn’t win as we had chances in the game. I don’t think Craig (Gordon) had too much to do but I’m overall delighted with our passing, speed and movement and how the players tactically concentrated was very good.”

The result saw Celtic finish this season's Champions League undefeated against their English opponents in their two clashes in the competition, but it was losses to Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach that ultimately saw their European journey this season end before Christmas.

This campaign, Brendan Rodgers’ maiden voyage in Europe as Celtic boss, was always described as one for learning by the Irishman, however, and he was keen to focus on the positives as his team headed back to Scotland having given a star-studded side another run for their money.

“With the campaign overall - I'm absolutely delighted,” he added. “First of all the objective was to qualify and after that first game we knew the level we were at. I always said it was a team ready to learn, develop and progress and apart from the first game our performance levels have been good.

“We competed against two of the super powers of European football and haven’t been beaten by Manchester City and arguably could have won both games, but I’m absolutely proud of the team and it now sets the standard for us to continue with this development. Now we look to go on and win the league and be ready to go in to the qualifiers next season again.”

 

Pished myself watching this

https://twitter.com/JOE_co_uk/status/806251370126909441

 

:brendy:

 

I'll never get tired of that wee smilie.

:brendy:

 

you can thank me for that.

 

Indeed it is!

Forrest has been like a new player. Armstrong even more so, his turnaround has been miraculous. Brown has went up a level.

Hopefully GMS is next.

 

Saved the club really. We were drifting into mediocrity for a while there.

 

The turn around has been amazing, worth his weight in gold

Cant wait for champs league next year already