“We want to win the game and we want to play well,” Brendan Rodgers

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.

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Q: Do you allow yourself to enjoy that moment when you pick up the trophy for the Premiership? Do you try and park that enjoyment ahead of the Cup final?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, I’ll enjoy it on Saturday, of course, after the game, and hopefully we can play well and win. Irrespective, it’s a special day, and it’s a mark of the club and everyone involved becoming a champion on that day. Not just the players, the manager, this is the staff, this is everyone involved at the club who played a huge part in sacrificing what it takes to be consistent and to work very hard to win a title. So naturally, we can enjoy that, and then obviously we can get ready for the Scottish Cup Final.”

Q: Do you ever think people will truly understand that guys like us, or even fans, what goes into winning a title? We speak to you on a weekly basis, we speak to you on a Saturday, but the hours that must go on behind the scenes on the training ground and in rooms like this, do you think people will get a proper understanding of how much actual work goes into it?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s very difficult to envisage, unless you’re actually in and doing it. I think that naturally, when you are consistent like we are as a club and winning titles and playing well, I think naturally people just shrug their shoulders at it and think it’s commonplace and it’s going to happen, but there’s so much work that does go into it from early in the morning to late in the evenings and you’d think right the way through the season. Just the consistency of it all, and that’s always the mark of anything.

“Clearly, we have talent, but lots of teams you see in football have talent, but it’s that drive to ensure that the standard of performance is there every single day and for that, that needs to be driven, and that needs a vision and that needs a focus. So yeah, it is very hard to understand, and I don’t expect people to either, but it’s one that we’re very focused on delivering that and I know with my experience that that’s a mark of what you do every single day and your training mentality and your focus and your professionalism and your sacrifice and all these things that allows you to become a champion.”

Q: That professionalism that you’ve instilled in the squad and the players takes care of a game like tomorrow night, the league’s won, the outcome of the game isn’t especially significant for you. Do you think the mentality within the squad helps them deal with that kind of occasion?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think the players have been absolutely brilliant this season in their consistency, but like everyone in life, you need reminding. There are moments in the season when you need to remind, but my job is really to support and aid the players here. They’ve got, as I said, the standards of performance that we look to drive through on a daily basis. Of course, how you train, you then take that into your games, so that relentlessness is there and, of course, it’s just guiding and shaping that.

So, this group of players, they’re a very honest group, a very talented group, a very driven group. They’ve got a wonderful captain who’s been here for a long time who sets the example in the training. I trust him 100 per cent and how he leads the team. The culture is so important, and there’s a winning culture here, but a winning culture that’s all about understanding what it takes to win consistently. So that’s been created here over this period.”

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Q: Just a follow-up, but in terms of trebles, do people take that for granted, these trebles now? It wasn’t something that was historically done very often up until the last 8, 9, 10 years.

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I think it is taken for granted. I think that, as I said, I go back to 2016. When I came in here, Jock and Martin were the two managers that had done that. The teams that had bought since 1888 had done it three times. And you think of, in that period of time, the number of managers and brilliant managers and brilliant players. So, for that to happen only three times, it shows you how difficult it is. I think what we tried to do when I came in in 2016 was set a mindset and a professionalism and a passion to add to the quality of the players that if you are going to win and you want to win, then you have to change your standard every day. That was about winning, then that standard allows us to win in the very best possible way.

“When I came in here, Celtic were already winning. They had won titles, and Ronnie had done great the previous few years. My job, I felt, when I came in, was to get the team to try and win in the very best way we possibly could and upgrade everything around what we do on and off the pitch. So that creates a mentality. And then from that and that first treble, we gain another treble. Then the confidence goes from there. Then the culture is in place, and then Neil Lennon comes in and does a fantastic job, and he wins a treble. Ange Postecoglou comes in and wins a treble. So they keep driving it.

“Now we have the possibility to do it again. There is so much work in it. It’s not just something you can take for granted because even luck can go against you in games, and you can get sendings off, and you can do all sorts. But thankfully, we’ve managed to be really consistent with it.”

Q: Some people think that it’s a formality that you’ve almost done it already this season, but that’s not the case. It’s something you have to guard against, isn’t it?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, that gets mentioned more obviously because of our past. I said to the players last week before the Hibs game, we had success a few weeks ago against Dundee United, but we’re not dwelling on it. You build on your past. You don’t just sit on it and glorify in it. Especially when you’ve got games to go and important games. So we’ve got a great opportunity now with three games to go to break some more records, possibly to finish the season with another trophy, and that would set off a stunning season for us, having progressed in the Champions League and shown a real, genuine performance level at that level.

Q: Does that focus on your style and how you win and how you play? Is that something that helps as well? Going to Aberdeen on a Wednesday night and the traditions of the club, you hear about the Lisbon Lions and Jock Stein saying to go out and entertain. Is that something that’s drummed into the players as well? That they are not here to win, but they’re here to entertain the fans that travel up there?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think any club’s DNA is based on the most successful period. Celtic’s success was the European Cup in 1967. So once you have that special success, then that’s your DNA that runs through your club and this football club. Winning is not enough. It really isn’t. I understand that in a way. That’s why the club will pick managers who can win but also understand performance. So there’s a win and there’s a way to win consistently, and that’s through good organisation, having good structure, clearly having good players with talent. Winning and winning in the best possible way is in the DNA of this club.

Q: Tony Ralston said at the weekend that he has a dream to see the rest of his days at Celtic. He’s a boyhood fan, but more importantly, he’s part of a Scottish core in the dressing room. Players like Callum McGregor and James Forrest are Serial winners. How important is it to have that Scottish core in the dressing room, especially at a club like Celtic?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s very important. I think whatever league you’re in, if you’re in Spain, having a Spanish core would be important. Italy, an Italian core. For me, it’s absolutely key. The boys who have come through at Celtic understand what this club is about. A lot of them have been here since young guys and they’ve come through, they’re brought up in the values of Celtic and guys like Tony, like you say, are really pivotal to the culture of this club. He doesn’t play every single game but I think he’s probably one of our most important players here because of, like you say, his history at the club. The likes of Greg Taylor, the other Scottish boys as well, not just the guys that have come through here. Scott Bain doesn’t play hardly ever but he’s been a real leader behind the scenes as well but 100 per cent, I think having the Scottish core here is key to your success.’

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Q: Kieran Tierney is going to add to that this summer. Have you had the chance to speak to Kieran much and be able to get a flavour of how excited he is to be returning to this club?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, I know he will be. I haven’t spoken to him a lot of late. We’ve exchanged messages and stuff, but I know his love of the club and excitement to come back here. So yes, I’m sure he’s champing at the bit to get back.”

Q: Do you still feel as though there’s real growth to come in this group, and what do you want to do in the summer? You’ve had all the success so far, but do you still feel there’s another level that this team and squad can go to?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s consistency. I think that we want to, I think I mentioned when I came back, we want to be a team that’s competitive in the Champions League. So firstly, we’ve got to get there in the summer. Can we build on this season? Is there another level? I think that what we have is that the players who have performed at a really high level for a lot of the season. I think what we want to try and do is sustain that level and sustain that European feeling as well. I think that’s what’s important here.

“So, if we can build on this year and look to develop, which I think we can do. With the squad I have, of course, if I kept everyone, then we’d only need a few changes within that to upgrade it. But of course, you never know how the summer goes. But either way, we’ll be really excited for next season to bring, take on the challenge of the league again and look to progress in Europe.”

Q: With reference to the importance of having a Scottish core, how much does that influence you when you’re looking to recruit? You’ve brought in Luke McCowan, added to that nucleus that you’ve got. You’re bringing back Kieran. Is that a significant aspect of your recruitment? What Scots are out there who could improve this side? Bearing in mind how important it is to have homegrown players here.

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I think it’s twofold. I think you always look from within to see if there are players within your academy who can make the step up. It’s been very difficult in recent times just because of the level that the team and the club are operating at. There is 100% a pathway for a young player here if there’s a bit of patience and a bit of development. That’s your first look. Second look, of course, is outside. I’ve loved working with the Scottish players when I’ve been up here. Come back to my first time, I had Ryan (Christie) and Stuart (Armstrong) and all the guys. They were absolutely brilliant for me. So that’s what we do. We look at homegrown players to see if there is anyone we feel who can improve our squad. Or a young player who can come in and who has the potential to be a starter here. So, yeah, it’s always something that we cover in our recruitment.”

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Q: You talked about the standards and consistency on the pitch. It looks as if Jeremy Frimpong could move to Liverpool soon, and Celtic would benefit financially from that move. What does that say about how well-run Celtic are off the pitch?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, there’s no doubt that over many years, the club, from a business perspective, is an example of a player trading model. It’s one where you bring a player in, you improve and develop, and then, of course, that player moves on. I don’t think anyone can argue with that. If you think of the football club as a whole, how it’s been run over the last 20-odd years, you look at the success that it’s had, and all based around that model. Now, we’ve got a lot of intellect at our board level. There are always things that we can improve, absolutely, but from within the remits and the footprint of what we work with, and I understand that better coming back the second time, I understand the financial parameters that we have here, and I’ve always worked within that. The club have provided us with an incredible base to keep it growing and keep it developing. ”

Q: Are you expecting to do a lot of business in the summer, or is it just going to be tweaks here and there?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, I think so. Again, we have to look at and adapt to situations as well. We all know fine, well, here there’s a player training model, which means that we will probably get offers for some of our players in the summer, and if that happens, then we have to be flexible and be able to adapt to that. If I said that everyone now would be here, then you’d maybe only have a few, two to three players coming in of high quality. But we’ll just have to see.

Q: After Kyogo left, you said that he’d come to you at one point and said he wanted to go at that stage. Is there anyone else like that in the meeting? Are there players in the squad just now who maybe want to look at something else in the summer?

Brendan Rodgers: “Not at this point. I think they’re all focused on finishing the season strong, and then they’ll all have their own individual thoughts around that. At this moment in time, everyone’s really focused on the season and finishing as strong as we can.”

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