Brendan Rodgers tells his Celtic stars the ONE thing that really pleased him as he vows to 'attack' Champions League
Celtic kept up their perfect Premiership start - before Brendan Rodgers claimed they’re now ready to excel in the Champions League.
The Hoops made it five wins on the spin with a 2-0 victory Hearts, equalling a 120-year clean sheet record in the process. And with Slovan Bratislava the next visitors to Parkhead on Wednesday night in Europe, Rodgers says they’ve never been in better shape. The Celtic gaffer vowed when he returned to the club two years ago that his ambition was to progress the club in the Champions League.
And before their first group game in the tournament’s new format, he believes they’re ready to make their mark. After goals from new boys Arne Engels and Luke McCowan saw off the Jambos, Rodgers was asked if it was as good and as strong as he’d ever felt going into the competition. He said: “Yes, I’m really excited by it. We’ve got a good balance in the squad.
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“Of course there are areas we can improve later but we’ve done a hell of a lot of good work over the summer. So we go into it in a really positive place.
“Our mindset is strong and we’re ready to attack the Champions League. We know the level we’re playing at but that’s OK. We’ll go and give it everything.
“We want to make a really positive start on Wednesday and we’re looking forward to it. I said when I came back I wanted to progress the club in Europe, absolutely.
“The bread and butter (the league), we can never forget that because it's so important. That’s about the lives of so many supporters, especially here in Glasgow for their team. So we can never discount that or think it's easy.
“People say it's easy, playing for or managing Celtic. But I can assure you it’s not. Because of the demand, the expectation and the mentality that you need to succeed. Thankfully we have a winning culture here.
“But it’s about taking the next steps. And the next step is probably in Europe. At the very highest level, it’s been a real challenge for us.
“For so many really good managers before me, it’s been a challenge. But we're hoping now that, with a strong squad, with improvements still to make in our play - that we can go and really attack it. We’re excited by that.”
Celtic’s new £11million signing Engels was the star man against the Jambos as he bagged his first goal for the club with a penalty. McCowan wrapped up the points late on but it was the Belgian who caught the eye.
And Rodgers can’t hide his enthusiasm when it comes to the potential of the 21-year-old, who scored Celtic’s penalty despite Reo Hatate being the designated taker. His manager said: “Arne had some great opportunities to score and also hit the post.
“Listen, he’s going to be a really good player. He’s tall, he's athletic, he can run and his touch is good. He's aggressive, he presses, so, I really like him. That's why we brought him here! At 21, he's only going to improve so I’m pleased for him.
“He showed his courage to take the penalty and score. Reo’s selflessness got the better of him but Arne was number two on the list. I’m just happy he scored!”
Rodgers was full of praise for his side who have yet to concede a goal yet in the Premiership. He said: “After the international break, you want your players to show up and they did that.
“What really pleased me was - and I mentioned it to the players - we didn’t become desperate. You’re never going to be four or five up in every game. The objective was to win, get our fluency and I think we did that. We were good winners.”
Hearts weren’t happy with the penalty decision after they’d had a claim ruled out by VAR, despite ref Colin Steven initially giving it for handball against Liam Scales. But Rodgers is adamant the whistler got BOTH calls correct.
He said: “It’s hard on Steven Naismith because he knew the first goal in the game would be so important But the rules are pretty clear. In anyone’s book, theirs is not a penalty. But of course, they want it, I understand that. With ours, if your arms are up outside your body it’s a penalty and that’s how it worked out.”