Brendan Rodgers spoke to the mainstream media today at Lennoxtown ahead of the trip to Aberdeen to take on Jimmy Thelin’s side in the penultimate fixture of the Scottish Premiership campaign…
The two sides also meet in the Scottish Cup Final a week on Saturday at the national stadium, although the Celtic side will be very different tomorrow from the one that walks out at Hampden looking for a victory to complete a ninth treble for the club.
Here’s everything that was said today at Brendan’s media conference….
Q: How are you fixed for tomorrow? Are you all good?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, we have a couple of things. Cam (Carter-Vickers) would miss this game, but hopefully, he will be okay for the weekend. Ali Johnston is back. Daizen Maeda, we’re recovering. He came in this morning with a little niggle. He trained, but we’re keeping him here just to get him treatment and make sure he’s okay for the weekend and the following week. So there’s no need to take any risk with him. Apart from that, the same squad.”
Q: Does the fact that it’s Aberdeen and also the cup final, as well, does it change your thinking in this game? Can you separate the two of them? Are these games related in any way at all?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, not really. I think it’s one where it’s the last of our three-game week. So it’s been such a long season for us, so many games. I mentioned last Friday. I think everyone took that I meant it was going to be the next game against Hibs that we would make changes, but I said over the course of three games, the team will change, and that’s what will happen in this game.
“So, I don’t think there’s any relevance to it for us. It’s about, as I said, my longer-term goal over this period was to get the squad in the best condition I possibly could, and that means getting players some minutes in some games. There is a different context to this game. The Scottish Cup Final is a special game in itself, and when that comes in 11 days time, we’ll be ready for that. This game is different, but it doesn’t change our ambition. We want to win the game, and importantly, we want to play well.”
Q: Is it difficult in these moments to try and make sure that the players’ minds don’t wander towards the Cup Final or potential Treble?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, it’s fairly straightforward. I’ve been here a number of times before. So we just ensure that they’re ready each day to train well and deliver that mentality and that focus, which I think is very important at this stage of the season. It’s such an exciting time as a Celtic player, but you can never look too far ahead. So this is a period where you’re challenging for trophies, and we’ll pick up one on Saturday, which is great, and that’s a great reward for the sacrifice and the great play that you’ve had. Then we have an opportunity in 11 days’ time to pick up another trophy, but you only do that by focusing on each day and improving and developing.
