Brendan Rodgers has an exclusive interview up on Celtic TV available to subscribers this morning, which is well worth watching. It’s likely to be posted on Celtic’s official You Tube channel in a day or two and having just watched it, it’ll be worth checking out when you can.
Actually here’s a wee update on this…
🗣 “Tynecastle is always a tough place to go however we’ll relish the game.”
The boss looks ahead to the return to action for the Champions as they face Hearts at Tynecastle in the #cinchPrem!
Watch in FULL ⤵️
https://t.co/NoGzmrqwLE
#HEACEL | @CelticFC | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/QJCUdVj1OA— Celtic TV (@CelticTV) October 18, 2023
Brendan ended his interview by talking about his surprise appearance at the St Roch’s match at the weekend and his delight at being in amongst the Celtic supporters.
Reflecting on his first few months back at the club it’s clear Brendan feels right at home and any concerns over his return appear to have been dispelled. Here’s some of what the Celtic manager has been speaking about, as reported on the official Celtic FC website.
“I’ve settled in really well and thoroughly enjoyed being back. I’ve enjoyed working with the players and it feels like we are at home. Steadily as we have gone through the season, the players have become more aware of what I’m asking from them and I’ve been pleased.
“Sometimes when you come into a club, and especially with the team having success before, there’s maybe a feeling there’s going to be a lot of change, but my observations were it didn’t need a lot.
“There were certain tweaks of what I wanted to see and sometimes that can get overthought.”
That frustrating goalless draw against St Johnstone in August resulted in the only dropped points so far and the way that match panned out has very much been used to Celtic’s advantage by the manager.
“I think in that there were lots of elements where there was too much thinking going on in the game. I like players not just to run but to think and run, but there was a bit more thinking going into it than what needed to be. From there, we were able to identify areas on the field and continue with the game model in how we’ve been working and from that point, the players have been brilliant.”
There was also a positive injury update on Maik Nawrocki from the Celtic manager. “He’s doing very well and trained over the last week or so. We only have Stephen Welsh and Liel Abada who will hopefully be back in December time.
“Thankfully that’s starting to ease off and we’re starting to get numbers back in what’s going to be a busy part of the season. You always know you will have injuries, I just think at the beginning of the season that aligned with new players coming in and trying to adapt and settle was the challenge.
“The players have come through that really well and things feel stable and we’re excited about things coming forward,” Brendan said.
On Liam Scales, the Celtic manager reflected on the fairytale story of the season, as the Celtic central defender continued to impress playing for the Republic of Ireland during this International break.
“In a matter of weeks, Liam has gone from a player playing and thinking he’s leaving Celtic, to playing regularly in the team, to playing in the Champions League and making his international debut. That’s how football can work for you if you stay focused and concentrated, and I’m absolutely delighted for him, but now consistency is the name of the game,” Brendan noted.
The next two fixtures don’t get much tougher on the domestic and European front, with Hearts at Tynecastle followed by Atletico Madrid at home in the Champions League next Wednesday.
Brendan Rodgers will be anxious to see if all his players return in full fitness from playing for their countries and with two extremely challenging matches over the next week, he hopes to have everyone possible available. Hearts at Tynecastle followed by Atletico Madrid at home in the Champions League a week tonight are mouth watering matches for the supporters a significant challenges in the season for the team and the management.
Starting with a look ahead to the Scottish Premiership match on Sunday the Celtic boss noted again the ridiculous decision to minimise the number of away supporters at this game.
“It’s always a difficult place to go to, Tynecastle, but we will relish the game and the atmosphere. Sadly there won’t be as many tickets for our supporters, so we will have to go there with not our usual support,” Rodgers said.
He added: “We’ve shown this season that we can go into tough venues and get the results that we need and we want to go there and perform well.”
And on Wednesday night the challenge is even greater when probably the best side in our Champions League group arrive at Celtic Park. Brendan Rodgers certainly admired the coach who will be in the away dugout on Wednesday night.
“They’re an outstanding team and Diego Simeone has done an outstanding job over many years at Atletico Madrid. He’s been there over a decade and been really successful so we know the challenge and that they are a very good side.
“For us, in our two games, we have been really competitive and we’re not far off from being a good side at this level. There were still elements in those games that I was pleased with and we will go into this game and look to give absolutely everything and see if we can learn from the previous two games.”
Manager: We relish the challenge of Hearts and Atletico Madrid 📰
💬 “Steadily as we have gone through the season, the players have become more aware of what I’m asking from them and I’ve been pleased.”
Read more below ⤵️#HEACEL | #cinchPrem | #COYBIG🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 18, 2023
It’s going to be a busy day for The Celtic Star team as we begin the process of packaging up all the advance orders for our new book, Majic Stan and the King of Japan which arrived yesterday. All the books ordered will be signed by the author Matt Corr and we’ll be posting them out tomorrow, assuming we get them all sorted today.
If you would like to order a copy just click on the image below…
