A delighted Brendan Rodgers spoke to Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle yesterday afternoon at Celtic Park. The Champions began their defence of their title in fine fashion with a dominant display against Kilmarnock who left Paradise flattered by the 4-0 scoreline.
Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor walk up The Celtic Way with the Scottish Premiership Trophy before the match between Celtic and Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on August 4, 2024 . (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
It was a performance that sends a message to the likes of Hearts and theRangers who are already two points behind Celtic and will have a tough task catching the Champions playing like this…
Here’s everything Brendan Rodgers had to say to Sky Sports after the 4-0 victory over Kilmarnock sent Celtic to the top of the league with just St Johnstone and Aberdeen still to play this evening…
(Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
Sky Sports: How much of a statement of intent was that today?
Brendan Rodgers: “It was a very good performance. When you come into the first game of the season it is all about getting it going. I thought a lot of our combination play in the attacking third was really good. It was a different type of game for us from what we have had right the way through pre-season but I thought the guys co-ordinated it very well. We scored four excellent goals and could have had one or two more. It was a very good start for us.”
Sky Sports: Could it have been a few more?
Brendan Rodgers: “I think we wanted to keep the intensity but it is difficult at this stage of the season as it will drop a little. We created chances and it was hard for the Kilmarnock guys as well in the last half hour as they played European football and there was travel involved. We had to punish that and I think our mentality in the game to try and do that was very good.”
Sky Sports: Was it like the title win in May you wanted to make sure they had nothing to hang on to and is that why you made such a fast start?
Brendan Rodgers: “I think that is always key. For us, we always want to start quickly and our game plan today was to do that. We wanted to get the tempo of the game up so that side of it was very good.”
Sky Sports: You seemed to have momentum early on and there were a lot of good individual performances but is it more about the collective at this time in the season?
Brendan Rodgers: “Individual quality is important but collectively it is about the team. I am very happy because I look at us now when we play against different types of systems in the man-marking and it is not easy as Kilmarnock are a very fit team and they are physical and difficult to play against which is what the game is about. We can manage our way through that very well now. I feel that if it is a man-marking team if there is space or teams in a low block this team is improving all the time. We had to get through that today and some of the combination play was and the attacking was very good. I was very pleased with our counter-pressing for the first goal and we had lots of other moments that allowed us to sustain attacks because when we lost the ball we were right onto the game to get it back.”
Sky Sports: When you see that continual development how do you keep it going? Do you still feel you can improve so early in the season?
Brendan Rodgers: “Continual development is something which should always be in your life anyway. These are young guys. I am 51 and from a personal and professional level, I will always look to grow and develop. I try to share that with the players. I think when you have got a lot of young players then the nature is to go on and improve. Even with the senior players, there are guys who you can improve. I see that within the group. They are very good in that aspect. They are very keen and they want to learn. There is such a long way to go.”
Sky Sports: Would you like to add more to this squad and bring in even more competition?
Brendan Rodgers: “Every manager will tell you that they want it for the first game of the season but it is not there. You can see with the core group that we have that they are very good so hopefully, we can add more tools to that over the window.”
Sky Sports: Is it difficult when you don’t want to bring in quantity given what you’ve got does it have to be quality?
Brendan Rodgers: “It has to be. That’s what this club is about. The supporters demand the quality of players that we have at our disposal also need to grow and develop. We also need guys like Nicolas Kuhn who add that bit of quality and can change the game for you. That takes time and we all want it now but hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, we can get that in.”
Sky Sports: Everybody wants it now but how do you keep a clear head on that and explain to everybody it is a process and not a quick thing?
Brendan Rodgers: “That’s life. That’s the way it is. We have to deal with that. I understand where supporters are coming from. They pay money and they want to see the best players on the pitch every single time we play. Hopefully, they will have seen throughout pre-season the talent that we have and the ability that we have and there is nobody that wants to improve the squad more than ourselves. It is just about finding the right player, getting the deal done and getting them in here to work.”
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