Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media today ahead of Celtic’s trip to face Kilmarnock on Sunday after their Champions League heroics against Leipzig in midweek.
The Irishman has positioned his side nicely for a tilt at the league title for a fourth time in succession as they have maintained an unbeaten start in the Scottish Premiership after ten matches.
However, in midweek, Champions League duty stole the show as Celtic delivered a comprehensive victory over Leipzig to move up to seven points from their opening four league phase matches.
Now, the job for Brendan Rodgers is about tempering expectations. Excitement is through the roof after recent results, but a long old season is ahead where plenty of twists and turns can take place.
In his pre-match press conference earlier today, the Celtic boss has now spoken about the advice the dressing room received after a watershed European victory.
Brendan Rodgers’ post-Leipzig message to Celtic squad
Speaking to the media today, Rodgers admitted that his only focus after Leipzig has been to reinforce the positive aspects of his side’s performance alongside pointing out where they can improve.
He stated: “No, I was just saying that was from other people, my message is that we analyse the game, we study the game and we reinforce with our players the process that we are in and how we are looking to improve.
“We’ve been waiting probably as a club and as a support base for a performance like that for a while. It’s not just to perform but to win and perform to that level. We want to stay in that; I think we’ve shown in 3 of 4 games in the Champions League that we’re actually a good side, but we know we’ve got a lot of work to do.
“Our first aim was to make the playoffs, but that’s still very much the case. For the players and ourselves, we’re much systematic in our approach; we look at the game and the areas we’re really good in, reinforcing that.
“We played against a team that’s renowned for their energy and their pressing and their counter-pressing and our physicality overrid a lot of Red Bull Leipzig, which is really impressive, so you share that with the players but you’re also looking at where we can improve and the areas we can be better in.”
Celtic won’t let complacency creep in across the board
While Celtic have made a fantastic start to the season, it is only the start, so the group won’t be getting too complacent at this stage.
Ultimately, trophies and European progression aren’t secured in November. The Bhoys know there is no room for slacking; Rodgers will also be constantly reminding them of their responsibilities.
For now, the message is to continue the positivity against Kilmarnock on Sunday before the international break kicks in.
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