“We will be judged in January to see where we finish,” Brendan Rodgers

Now that the emotion and dust have settled, Brendan Rodgers yesterday outlined the main points that Celtic could have done better against Dortmund on Tuesday night in the Champions League match in the iconic Westfalenstadion…

“In terms of our pressing, I thought that we went on our own a little bit. The early goal spooked us a little bit, so they then showed the lack of experience in the team.  Top players will find that space when you’re out of position. There’s always a little bit of work for us to do on that front, just pressing at the wrong moment and at the wrong time.

“With the ball, we could have been better. We were too rushed in our play at times, which gave those players the possibilities.  If you look at the first half and the second half, we conceded two penalties which were soft. Then we concede three goals – two of which are brilliant strikes – and one takes a deflection. Fantastic strikes from a top-level young player.

“Before you know it, it was maybe 3-1 going in at half-time, then you can regroup and go in at half-time, but then the next two quick-fire goals just before half-time put you to 5-1.

“Psychologically, it’s a very difficult place to be when you’re playing a high-level opponent, but that’s where I commend the players. In the second half, they played with courage and passion by keeping on fighting. They showed the spirit and resilience.

“Yes, the result wasn’t anywhere near what we wanted, but we will learn from it. We will be judged in January to see where we finish. The aftermath is that we were naturally disappointed, but we will pick ourselves up and show that resilience again,” the Celtic manager said.

Watch Brendan’s full media conference from yesterday afternoon at Lennoxtown below…