Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

If our midfield 3 leave as much space between them and the defence as we did in Dortmund, we will be in for another rough night. I’d love to see us sit in and try and bore the * of everyone for a 0-0, but we won’t. Players need to take far more responsibility compared to Dortmund, but if we start as open and are getting torn apart, Rodgers needs to be changing things instead of just letting it play out.

 

PEP GUARDIOLA once said playing Atalanta here was like going to the dentist.

Tomorrow night, Celtic supporters can only hope watching their own team isn’t like pulling teeth.

They almost needed gas and air after the Hoops’ last Champions League performance.

But if the fans travelling to Italy think they’re about to see a more defensive performance against last season’s Europa League winners having conceded seven to Borussia Dortmund, they’d better think again.

Brendan Rodgers has made a career in top-flight management by being attack-minded.

And, while some may see that as a stubborn failing against the best teams in the business, he’s strongly hit back at the charge he needs to change his ways.

Rodgers said: “I started coaching many, many years ago. It’s over 25 years ago now, and from the very beginning, my coaching has always been aggressive.

“Until the day I finish, it will be aggressive. That’s how I work.

“But I’m also respectful that you play against teams at a certain level and certain opponents, where you have to really look at their strengths.

“But I don’t tell them not to do that in every game, because I do, no matter what team I’m playing, whether it’s in Scotland or in the Champions League.

“It’s the level at which you can get punished. So I think it’s one where you have to have the balance in your game.

“You have to be really strong defensively.



There are going to be moments when you can press the game high. There are going to be moments when you’re lower on the pitch.

“I think the key learning for us has to be that when you are in those moments, you cannot go on your own.

“We’ve got a very, very inexperienced squad of players playing at this level.

“So sometimes you can make little decisions to jump out of your slot and defend and win when really you should stay, because at this level you’ll get picked off. That’s the key for us.

“But we always have to carry that threat.

“I think if you look at this club here in Atalanta, it’s a great example.

“Obviously, they have totally different resources. They are way above us in terms of that.

“But if you look at the actual principle of it, they came through and arrived at this level.

“I’m sure the manager will tell you that they had some really harsh learning experiences in terms of the games that they played, especially against the top Premier League teams.

“It was a real, real challenge and the scorelines were difficult for them.

“But then they come away and they learn from that, I’m pretty sure, and they stick with the philosophy, but still look at certain areas where they can be better and improve.

“And of course then you become better with that.

“So if you’re talking about a pragmatic coach, it’s a different coach, I’m a different person.

“That’s not to say that we go into the game and just be all-out at attack, all-out front foot. That’s not how it is.

“But if a coach’s DNA is to sit back and be that, then that’s not me. And it won’t be, it’s as simple as that.

“My idea is to have an attacking philosophy, which is about defending and defending well.

“Defending when you haven’t got the ball, being really aggressive and really strong in closing spaces and then when you have the ball, look to create opportunities. But that’s not to say I don’t respect the different levels in the game, because I absolutely do.

“I’ll always be mindful of having a balance in both attack and defence, though.”

Some will applaud Rodgers for having tactical principles he refuses to stray from.

Others will point to the humiliating results his teams have suffered down the years and ask when enough is enough.

In Dortmund three weeks ago, the Celtic support showed remarkable faith by applauding their manager and team off the park after that 7-1 battering.

But you can’t help wonder how long that attitude can last.

Rodgers, however, has aimed a barbed response to the pundits out there who were quick to criticism his side after the Dortmund drubbing.

He said: “You don’t get the leeway. That’s the reality of it.

“It’s an opportunity for people to beat you over the head with a stick, and that’s clear. So I’m not going to get too emotional about it.

“I don’t really listen too much. It’s a perfect storm for some people.

“You know that when you lose, especially when you come into Europe, that they will write a great piece on how poor you were.

“And actually, they’ve been saving it for probably a number of months. So that’s the opportunity to do it. I can’t change that. I’m not even going to be bothered to try, to be honest.

“But there’s no leeway given. So we just have to concentrate on our own club, keep trying to improve and see where it takes us.”

Rodgers was boss of Atalanta attacker Ademola Lookman during a loan stint at Leicester City from RB Leipzig, having previously tried and failed to sign him for Celtic before Everton snapped him up from Charlton. The Nigeria cap scored a stunning hat-trick in last season’s Europa League final when Atalanta handed Bayer Leverkusen their first defeat of the season.

Rodgers said: “He’s an absolutely brilliant young player. He’s one we tracked back in my first time at Celtic.

“I think everyone knows the story. I met him in a hotel in London and we were looking to convince him to come.

“Sadly, we just couldn’t get to the levels that Charlton wanted for him but the club did everything they possibly could at that time.

“I think he went for maybe £11million or something to Everton. It just drifted away from us.

“Financially it was a challenge on the fee, but wages and everything else the club could do.

“The player was keen in that moment. That’s as close as it got.”

 

I'm looking forward to this, it's got the potential to be a good game.

 

Superb gaffer..

What a response..

 

Give him his dues, poker faced the lot of us (well, me at least) saying he wouldn't go pragmatic but fair * play that was exactly what we needed to do and the players executed his game plan to a tee.

Great stuff!

 

Swallowed his pride, set us up properly and reaps the rewards. Top, top manager.

 

Mate he was never ever gonna do what he did in Dortmund again..

Can't believe anyone thought he'd go for it like that again. Was always gonna sit this time..

 

That'll do, pig. That'll do.

 

Well done young man

 

I take people on their word mate just how I work. Never been so glad to be wrong though

 

Rode our luck first half but fair play he got them to dig in and we were much more compact in the second.

I think he needs to drop Engels though, he isn't doing enough at the moment. Maeda looks off it too.

 

Ho, Brendo.

That's how you set up in the Champions League away from home, pal.

 

After all that bluster, he actually set us up to get something out of this tie. Just goes to show that peer pressure works.

 

Never change x

 

Exactly why he is here, perfect tactics and had the players focused and on it

 

Set us up much better!

 

We have the pace to be dangerous on the counter while sitting in like that..

No reason why we shouldn't be doing it frequently against better sides.

 

Same shape, sat deeper..

@PaulM1888 called that tbf

 

Agree with the Engels point, he's a fantastic young player going through a mini rough patch, there's no harm starting Bernardo/McCowan the next game or two.

Fantastic from him tonight overall, shows he can be an elite manager when he wants to be