Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers locks horns with Don Cowie today as the Bhoys look to continue their winning momentum in the Scottish Premiership.
The Bhoys have 11 victories and a solitary draw on league duty and could move five points ahead of Aberdeen at the summit with a positive result this afternoon.
On the flip side, Ross County are eighth in the Scottish Premiership ahead of their meeting with the champions in Glasgow, claiming two wins in their last five matches.
Clearly, Celtic will take confidence from their draw against Brugge despite missing the opportunity to essentially book their place in the knockout stages.
Character was needed on a Champions League night where the Hoops had to dig deep against Nicky Hayen’s energetic outfit, so taking something from the tie has to go down as a valuable night’s work.
Now, Brendan Rodgers has highlighted what he wants to see from his side against Ross County as they turn their focus back towards the bread and butter of domestic football.
Brendan Rodgers wants energy from Celtic vs Ross County
Speaking yesterday in his pre-match press conference, Celtic boss Rodgers made it clear that he wants to see an energetic approach from his side today as they look to avoid the notion of a European hangover,
He stated: “I think they’ll be very determined. Obviously, I know Don well; he was my first ever signing as a manager when I was manager at Watford.
“£50,000 he was and he done brilliantly for me at Watford, so I’ve known him since those days, I’ve always been in contact with him and followed him. Obviously, he worked closely with Malky (Mackay) and then he’s gone out on his own and done a really good job.
“The game that we played up there, I think it could be a similar type of game. They were super organised, they all knew their job and all knew the role. We had to work very hard at the end to get the result.
“So, I will expect a similar game, they’ll carry a threat in various moments, but for us, we’re at home. We love playing at home, we want to showcase our energy, our attitude in the game and that’s what we’ll look to bring, so it’ll be a tough game I’m sure.”
Celtic’s league form has encompassed both sides of the game
Expanding on his side’s ability to constantly go after the opposition, Rodgers has made it clear that Celtic value both sides of the game equally as they look to build the foundations to claim more silverware.
Back in October, he said: “I think that defensively, I’m obsessed with us really working hard. The pressing, the aggression, the first balls, the second balls, these are all the things that are important in the game.”
Pressing sides high up and making life difficult at Parkhead is crucial to claiming results on a weekly basis. Even when performances dip, if hard work is there, you usually grind out your reward in the end.
Three points by any means necessary is the mission today. Rest assured, the Irishman will be doing everything he can to make that happen.
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