Brendan Rodgers gave perhaps his most interesting media conference of the season this afternoon in Bergamo ahead of Celtic’s third Champions League match of the season, against Europa League holders Atalanta…
However the manager dashed hopes of a return to the side for Cameron Carter-Vickers. Hopes were raised after CCV was photographed training at Celtic Park today ahead of the team heading to Glasgow Airport for the flight to Milan. Here’s everything that the Celtic manager had to say at his media conference…
Q: How is the team feeling?
Brendan Rodgers: “We’re looking forward to the experience again. We’ve played two games now, the first one you come off and you feel absolutely amazing. It’s a great feeling. Then you come off after the second game and it feels like an assault on your spirit. But that’s life at this level. We’re looking forward to the challenge of playing against a really good team.”
Q: Is Cameron Carter-Vickers fit?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, he hasn’t travelled. Greg Taylor hasn’t travelled as well, so Greg should join the training group on Friday. As for Cameron, we’ll see when we get back.”
Q: What lessons can you learn from Dortmund?
Brendan Rodgers: “They are a very good side, a very aggressive team, very attacking. For us, I think it’s that compactness in the team which is very important. We weren’t tight enough in certain moments in that [Dortmund] game and of course then you add to that quality that they finish with. We deserve to be here in this competition. It’s always important to instil that belief in the players. You know you’re going to have to defend well and be strong in your duels against a team that, in terms of a defensive organisation and how they work, is pretty unique. They are at the very highest level of that. So you’ve got to be able to deal with that, play through that pressure, but also be really strong defensively. It’s the aim we go into with every game, but going into the games at this level, it’s even more important.”
Q: You say you will learn lessons but you will not compromise, will you?
Brendan Rodgers: “I started coaching many, many years ago, over 25 years ago, and from the very beginning, my coaching has always been aggressive. And 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 the Champions League. It’s the level at which you can get punished. So I think it’s one where you have to have balance in your game. You have to be 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. And 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.”
Q: Will you be more pragmatic?
Brendan Rodgers: “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 stick with the philosophy, but still look at certain areas where they can be better and improve. 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. And 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 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 do. But I’ll always be mindful of having a balance in both attack and defence.”
Q: Did you have to remind them that they belong here?
Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s when you always have to convince the players of that. We’re competing at the very highest level. So your spirit can be affected after games like that. But we have to get back on our game, which we did do that weekend. This is what can happen to you at this level. It’s the very top teams, the very best teams. It’s not nice, it doesn’t feel good. But you have to deal with it. And that’s what the players have done.”
Q: You nearly signed Ademola Lookman for Celtic, didn’t you?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, he’s an absolutely brilliant young player. He was one that 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.
“And then from that moment, we stayed in contact. When I was at Leicester, we wanted to bring in another winger and inquired about his availability when he was at Red Bull. And he came in and he was absolutely brilliant for me in that season, he was there, and he scored some outstanding goals. I remember a great individual goal against Liverpool. I’m so proud of him and the career that he’s had because he’s a young guy who came out of London and wasn’t scared to travel. Going to Germany at the time and obviously coming up to the northwest of England, to Everton. When he came to Leicester, you could see everything he was. He leads his life in the right way. Everything is geared towards being the best he can be.
“Watching him in that Europa League final, the goals he scored were not by accident. He practised that every day of his life where he could. He would be out with a bag of balls, doing shooting exercises long after everyone else had gone in. Working on his right foot and left foot. He’s so balanced. He can shoot up his right foot the same as his left foot. He’s an absolutely incredible young professional. To see him score the hat trick in the final last year was absolutely amazing. We’ve stayed in contact and he’s such a good guy, a brilliant player. We wanted to sign him at Leicester at the time, with the chance to take him. But sadly we couldn’t sign any players that summer. Once I told Lee Congerton we weren’t going to sign him, Lee then took him here to Atalanta. He’s now a club legend.”
Q: How close was he to signing for Celtic?
Brendan Rodgers: “Close in the fact that he was really excited by the project of Celtic. He was at Charlton at the time, he wanted to join a big club. He didn’t feel those pressures and everything about why a player would want to come to Celtic. Charlton were wanting to get as much as they possibly could for him. We spoke to him, from a personal perspective. It was a move that should have helped him and his representatives. He was very clear on that. But obviously, it was a financial sum in the end. I think he went from maybe £11 million 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 at that moment. That’s as close as it got.”
Q: Is this a chance to show your team belongs at this level and that you are better than the Dortmund game?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I think so. Every game is that experience. As a football player, you don’t want to be sat in a changing room and feeling that again. That’s something that the players know themselves. But I always say that this is a level of belief. These are belief games. You have to go into these and really believe that you can get the result. It might not always go your way, but you certainly have to go in with that belief. I just think in the Dortmund game, some things went against us very early on in the game. Then the quality and the confidence take over. Then you end up on the back of a really heavy scoreline. Like I said, that’s on me. But we hope to learn from that. That’s the key.
“This is the long game here in Europe in terms of what we’re trying to achieve. Not just this season, but going forward. That was one of the big reasons to come back, to show that we can make that progress. That isn’t something that happens in one game or two games. We all do not want to have that feeling that we experienced after Dortmund. It’s an emotionally gutted feeling after a result like that. But this is a team whose spirit and togetherness are so strong. For us, it’s about that tactical discipline, having that togetherness and having that belief in your quality. If you have that, you’ll always be in with an opportunity to get a result.”
Q: Atalanta score and also concede a lot are you confident that you will get chances?
Brendan Rodgers: “You always believe that. Every team will have a weakness. When we look at the Como game, or the Arsenal game, and other games, there are opportunities there. But you have to be at the very top end of your game. This is a team full of confidence, full of quality, full of physicality. They’re renowned for their man-marking style in how they defend at Atalanta.
“But that’s a really attacking philosophy. It is one that creates opportunities. That’s how they work and play. They’ve shown that over the last number of years. We have to be mindful of the attacking threats, absolutely. The power and the speed that they have. We also have to know that if we play through that pressure, and we’ve played against man-marking teams before, of course, but this is at the very highest level of that. But you know when you play through that structure, then there’s space for you. We have to, in those moments, utilise that space. There’s a really great challenge in front of us, but also a great opportunity to show that we can kick on from the last game.”
Q: Is there an unfair expectation on Celtic in the Champions League?
Brendan Rodgers: “I think that if you get any sort of common sense and logic, you would see that. But it’s something that doesn’t count. 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 listen too much. It’s a perfect storm for some people.
“You know that when you lose, especially when you come into Europe, they will write a great piece on how you… 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. 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. Good evening.”
Q: What about Atalanta’s man-marking system?
Brendan Rodgers: “It’s more than the man-marking, it’s that really aggressive style, how they man-mark, how they cover the game is also the best for me in world football. We experienced that, but at a slightly lesser level, but it’s still the same principle. When you play against teams that are very aggressive and press them forward, you have to be very vertical in your football, so you have to look to play forward. You have to be able to be good in the duels, so you have to be able to take the ball under pressure.
“You have to be able to connect the game quickly, one and two touch. You also have to be able to stay on the ball and eliminate the pressure on dribbles. It’ll be very much a different game from what you would normally watch most weeks if you don’t watch Atalanta a lot because lots of teams will play with zone pressure. Atalanta tests you to the limit on that individual duel. Again, it’s having that belief and having those patterns that can take you through that pressure. Of course, when you see lots of teams play against Atalanta, they will obviously go a lot more direct, because there’s space to play into that.”
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