Brendan Rodgers joined Arne Engels on media duties earlier today as Celtic get ready to take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League…
The Bundesliga side lost at Dortmund at the weekend but remain second in the table behind Bayern Munich. It’s been a different story in the Champions League as RB Leipzig, given possibly the toughest fixture list of all sides, have lost narrowly to Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool. So they come to Celtic Park needing a win.
Here’s how Brendan handled the questions from the media which today featured some fan media sites…
Q: How’s the squad from the weekend? Any changes?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, everyone’s in a good place. A quick turnaround, but everyone is good.”
Q: How do you feel about this particular challenge or how it compares to the ones you’ve faced previously?
Brendan Rodgers: “RB Leipzig will be no different to Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta – they’re a top team near the top of their league. They have everything that you would want in a top European side in speed, power, strength and technique.
“It’s a brilliant challenge and one we’re really looking forward to, having been away for the last couple of games. Off the back of the result in Atalanta, we’re at home and we’re really excited by that,” Brendan said.
Q: How helpful is it to go into this one off the back of so much positivity?
Brendan Rodgers: “Off the back of the first game here, we showed the intensity that we wanted, we obviously went to Dortmund and that was a really challenging night for us. We’re obviously really grateful for the support we had after that.
“The supporters were really good for us on what was a really difficult night. That gave the players the energy and the confidence to then go forward,” Brendan said.
“Like it is, you always have to learn and have to be better. We were that in Atalanta against a really, really outstanding team. So now we have the chance to come back home and be a full house, and really look to bring our energy to the game, but also know that we’ll have to defend for a good period of the game as well and defend with the concentration and commitment that we did in Atalanta.”
Q: Did the players maybe need that Atalanta performance just to get a bit of belief back after what had happened in Dortmund to look forward to the next games in this competition?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, definitely. I think that it was a challenging evening in many aspects, but I’ve mentioned it before with this group of players, I think what carries any individual or any team is the mindset. This is a team whose mindset is to improve and to be better.
“We knew we needed to be better after that game, me included, and we were able to go away and focus on that. We were much better in our game in Atalanta,” Brendan said.
“So, yes, this is another good opportunity for us to perform at a high level. Just about having those concentration levels right and getting the distances correct, because it was there against Atalanta, obviously there’s going to be a lot of attacking talent in the RB Leipzig team.”
Q: Are you needing a very similar performance to that?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, I think, as I said, in the three games that you mentioned, the Borussia Dortmund, a lot of the ideas going in were similar because you’re playing against such a top-level opponent, but the game just got out of control too quickly for us in Dortmund. We were probably just individuals then in our pressing. That allowed us to regroup again and go to Atalanta and press how we wanted to and defend how we needed to.
“The players showed that they could do that against a really, really top attacking team. So, we’ll need to do that again tomorrow. There’s going to be times where we’re going to be able to press again and be really aggressive on it. There’s going to be moments where we have to be controlled in that and then look to play and cause them a problem when we have the ball.”
Q: Brendan, because your players have shown and demonstrated that they do have that added dimension to their game, as shown against Atalanta, did you notice a more confident approach with them? A kind of growth, almost, that they prove that they can play a different way.
Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, it’s not so much a different way. It’s just you have to have that resilience. I think that top teams will push you back. You can go with the idea, whatever idea it is you want, but you know at moments in games you’re going to have to defend, and you have to have that organisation and have that resilience to be able to do that. So, I think that what Atalanta proved to the players at the very highest level, we can do that, but it really takes a big concentration.
“It takes a big commitment, and it takes togetherness in order to do that because the team together, how they moved, how they were all synchronised in their actions and moving up the pitch and being tight and filling in spaces, they were very, very good. So, it will be the same tomorrow, but you need moments of that and then that earns you the right to then play.”
Q: Just in terms of the atmosphere, the positive side of the atmosphere, how much is that going to help tomorrow with trying to get more points on the board in this league?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, your home games are very, very important at this level and we all know here that, as I said, when you want the result, then the supporters can bring you closer to that. I think it’s going to be that intensity will be needed and the noise and what it generates here is absolutely incredible.
“We’ll also need that little bit of patience as well because there’s going to be moments whenever you, at times, supporters will want you to go forward and want you to press, but we have to be educated in our pressure and for that, that means making sure that everyone is in tune with that because you can’t sustain it,” Brendan said.
“You can’t continue to do it against the very, very top teams. So, there’ll be moments of pressure. There’ll be moments where you’re compact and tight, waiting for that tactical moment to press and I’m pretty sure the crowd, as I said, they’ll really get behind the players and hopefully can push us to a result. But I’m really excited by it because we’ve got ourselves, after three games, into a really good position. Two really tough games, a fantastic performance here and now we’ve got another opportunity to show that we can pick up a result against a top, top team.”
Q: Brendan, have you got a tough call to make in terms of the centre-back position? Auston (Trusty) obviously came in at the weekend. Liam Scales has been terrific for you this season.
Brendan Rodgers: “I think I mentioned before that all the players have value. I know I can put any one of them in. It’ll depend on the game that we want to play and with some of their strengths. I think all the players know they’re valued, and they know that they’re going to be playing games, even if it’s not the next game. They’ll maybe get an opportunity in the next one after that. We sit down and we always come up with a plan in terms of what it is we want to do and then the players that fit around that.”
Q: Brendan, you’ve talked a lot this season about the link between pressing and attacking. At this level, can looking after the ball be the thing that provides a catalyst for a good defensive performance as well?
Brendan Rodgers: “It’s also, for me, that’s how you defend. You can defend better and that’s the link to me getting booked at the weekend. As I said to the players, I’m always thinking about the bigger picture. You’re losing your pass and domestically, we might not get punished, but at this level, you will do. So, be clean, be precise, and play with speed on the ball.
“I think this team is improving in many ways. I see that defensive side, the pressing, everything. Absolutely. But with the ball, I think we’re developing in our organised possession. In our counter-attacks, we scored two of our three goals in the first half of the weekend,” Brendan said.
In counter-attack moments where we’re breaking away from pressure, we’re improving in set-pieces. Like I said, organised possession, we’re getting better and this is what you need to be good at this level to get results.”
Q: You’ve coached against Marco Rose teams before. Does that help in any way in the tactical preparation or in your experience?
Brendan Rodgers: “Not really. I just know how Marco Rose teams will play. I know what the Red Bull philosophy is. So, you know they want to press. You know they want to be aggressive. You know they’re going to have physicality in the game and you also see what they’re doing back in the Bundesliga to tell the top, top side. So, a different type of challenge to the Atalanta one with just how they work.
“But similar in terms of their profile of player, and the status that they have in their league. But knowing that Marco Rose teams, they will press, they will run, they will be aggressive. We’re hoping that we can have the same result that we did against Leipzig when I was here the first time.”
Q: You talk about, obviously, the home atmosphere and how beneficial that is going to be. I wonder, do you have a message for the fans over pyrotechnics?
Brendan Rodgers: “Obviously, the club put a very strong message ahead of the cup tie and with this potential ban looming over them as well. I think it’s just exactly what we said before. It’s not something that we really want to see. I think there’s that sanction hanging over the club and we really don’t want that.”
Q: Andre Silva from RB Leipzig is on record saying this is going to be like a cup final for them tomorrow because they’ve not won a game yet in the Champions League. Can that play into your hands?
Brendan Rodgers: “Listen, every game for us at this level is a cup final. I mentioned that right at the beginning of this competition to our players. We have eight finals to see if we can get into that playoff stage. So, they’ve had tough games. They’ll obviously be disappointed with the Juve game where they were at home and they lost a man and lost the game. But of course, if you come into this fourth game, then they’ll be obviously desperate to get points on the board. But thankfully, we are too. And that should make for a really, really fantastic game.”
Q: They’ve got the best defence in the Bundesliga this season, so how difficult a challenge is that for you to try and open them up?
Brendan Rodgers: “Clearly, but that’s the level and we know that. But we know what we can do here.
“We know we can score goals. We know we can create goals. And we want to make it as difficult as we possibly can for them, with the ball and against the ball. We have a huge respect for every team we play at this level, and in particular, this team here,” Brendan said.
“They’ve got a very, very good record. But for us, we also have to concentrate on our strengths and we’ve shown that we can score goals. So, we have to push and do everything we can to get the win and to be really effective in that phase of the game.”
Q: The line-up getting leaked before the games, is that something you’ve been able to get to the bottom of?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, it’s something that the club will look at. For me, I don’t want to talk any more about it. My concentration is on the team that’s playing.”
Q: On a purely personal level, Brendan, how much do you enjoy the challenge of the Champions League and pitting your wits?
Brendan Rodgers: “We’re playing against a lot of teams that are superior to us and from superior leagues. That challenge in itself is absolutely great. Trying to find ways of which to gain the results that can bring you to your endpoint. It’s an amazing competition to be involved in.
“You have some games where you have to take your medicine. But I’m pretty sure it’s all learning and it’s no different to yourself. I’m pretty sure you don’t write your scripts first up all the time. I’m sure you draw your line through some pieces of paper and whatever else. We’re exactly the same. We learn, we hope to be better, and improve and certainly from a manager’s perspective, it’s a really exciting level to be involved in.”
Q: The result against RB Leipzig in 2018? Was that the kind of level you’d need to hit again, you think?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I think to win a game at this level, you have to bring your A-game to it. I thought that night we were excellent, the intensity of our game, the pressure we had in the game. Of course, you have to ride your luck at times as well. That’s the level. But no, I thought our intensity, our pressing, our football was very good on that evening. At this level, you have to be near-perfect to get a big result.”
Q: The club has long wanted to turn Parkhead into a fortress, even at this level after back-to-back home wins against Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava?
Brendan Rodgers: “It’s just time. I think what is important is to have a good mood. I think the mood is great at the moment. That’s why I give gratitude to the supporters after the Dortmund game because when we walked over at the end, which was on the back end of a tough evening, they stayed with the team. They were with the team. They’d seen what we’d been doing up until that point. We hope to prove that that was just a night where we just weren’t at our best and we got heavily punished for it. But we’ve shown that we can learn.
“Then, like you say, getting results and getting results here can build that mindset again. So, like you say, the Feyenoord and the Bratislava results, are two really good games,” Brendan said.
The Bratislava win got us off to a really good start in the competition and now we play against a really, really top team on the back end. We have a good result and a fantastic result. Let’s see if we can keep this mood going and keep that feeling going.”
Celtic in The Thirties – out tomorrow!
Matt Corr’s highly anticipated Celtic in the Thirties (Volumes One & Two) are published tomorrow on Celtic Star Books. Order your copies today and receive signed copies which will be posted on Wednesday morning. Order at celticstarbooks.com
