Accies will make Bhoys earn right to continue their winning streak: Rodgers

CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has stressed his side will have to graft for three points against Hamilton tonight.

The Hoops extended their unbeaten domestic run to 68 games with a 2-2 draw against Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday, and few would bet on Martin Canning’s side, who lost for the first time in seven games at the weekend to St Johnstone, ending it in their Ladbrokes Premiership encounter at Parkhead.

However, Rodgers, whose side are preparing for their fourth of nine games in December, anticipates a difficult night.

He said: “Martin always gets his teams organised and they are very difficult to beat.

“He has an honest group of players who work very hard and make it difficult for you. Every time you play against Hamilton you have to earn the right to win the game.

“They played well in their game at the weekend against St Johnstone but, like Tommy Wright’s teams do, they hang in there and eventually get the win.

“We’ll expect another tough game from Hamilton but of course we’re at home.

“We want to impose our way of working and our style on the game and hopefully that brings us the three points.”

Celtic have a Europa League tie against Russian side Zenit St Petersburg to look forward to next February, following Monday’s last-32 draw.

However, with Accies a more immediate concern, Rodgers spoke in glowing terms about his players’ mentality.

“They have been tested every which way and you seen that at Easter Road,” said the former Swansea City and Liverpool boss.

“We want to win every single game we play and we’ve virtually done that domestically.

“But with the games you can’t win or when something goes against you, it’s important you have that resilience and mentality to not lose the game, and that’s clearly what this group have.

“We still need to be better. “We still have lots of improvements to make but you also have to respect the other managers and players. It’s been very competitive and, thus far, we’ve been able to play well and win a lot of our games.”

Good times: Brendan Rodgers with defender Kieran Tierney