What Brendan Rodgers told Celtic players in dressing room after defeat to Feyenoord

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers delivered a positive message to his players in the wake of Tuesday’s defeat to Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League.

The Bhoys slipped to a 2-0 defeat, with goals in each half, having been reduced to nine men due to preventable red cards. Celtic were the architects of their own demise, as we have seen so often at the elite level in recent years.

Regardless, Rodgers told his players he was proud of their reaction to the reduction in numbers, feeling the result could have been a lot worse in the end.

More than that, he reckons if goal difference is a factor at the end of the group stage, it would have been an important half an hour for the team.

Rodgers said [Scottish Daily Mail, 22/09 print edition]: “In the first 60 minutes we were very competitive away against a very good side and right in the game. The challenge for us was when we went down to nine men. What I said to the players afterwards was that I was proud of them at 2-0.

“To go down to ten men at Champions League level is very difficult. To go down to nine and keep the scoreline at 2-0, that might actually prove invaluable for us going into the last game, because goal difference could come into it.

“All of these things could come into it, so the players showed a big heart, they kept fighting, and their application was very good. The result? Of course we’re always disappointed when we lose, but we move on to the next one.”

Celtic’s Champions League campaign is unlikely to be defined by the away fixtures. Yes, at one stage against the Dutch champions it looked possible to pick up a draw or perhaps even a win, but what will be key is how the Bhoys perform at home.

Celtic now have massive games hosting Lazio and Atletico Madrid before heading off on their European travels. Take three, four or six points out of that pair of fixtures and everyone will feel that it’s viable to finish third.

That’s a big ask, of course. But it also provides context for why Rodgers is trying to stick with a positive message. Nothing is yet beyond Celtic in the group, so it’s all about the manager shining up the players’ confidence, rather than pointing out their failings after game one.

In other news, Potential debut, defensive doubt; Celtic team news ahead of Livingston test.