THE TORTOISE AND THE HERR

They might be HUGE underdogs but Rodgers says Hoops can get a result

BRENDAN RODGERS wasn’t fooled. As the news drifted over Munich saying Bayern were bust, the Celtic boss wasn’t buying it.

In his eyes, his troops were always going to be facing a “super-club of the world”. Nothing that has happened in recent weeks has changed that. As Rodgers stood in a corridor inside the Allianz Arena last night, he was surrounded by giant pictures of megastars. Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben (right), Thomas Muller. Larger-than-life sized images peering down over his shoulder. Rodgers didn’t need those snapshots above his head to create an image in his mind of the task in hand. He knew fine well already. The fact that Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal and the return of boss Jupp Heynckes in the dugout has injected a fresh spring back into Bavarian steps hasn’t altered a thing. Bayern in Munich is as tough as it gets. But Rodgers isn’t daunted. He said: “Having watched them after reports of them not doing well, they are still a crack team full of world-class players. “They are a team who will want to do well in this competition. “They have changed manager and that has had a bounce effect as evidenced in the game at the weekend, but they are top class players, so it doesn’t matter. “They will be motivated regardless, but they have a manager who is hugely respected within the club and won the treble last time out. “They will be hoping that it’s a new start and they will look to get the win having gone into the game on the same points as us. Are Bayern potential winners of the competition? That’s what they will consider themselves to be. “They are a super club of the world and that’s what is demanded of them. “It’s about winning but, like other big teams. it’s about how you win. they will look to go close with players who have already won the tournament. Experienced players who will want to go again. “We will have to be at our best to get something from this.” Rodgers’ final statement was an obvious assessment, yet he believes it’s possible. Almost 12 months ago exactly, the manager’s last trip to Germany pointed to an improved Celtic future on the continent. The performance in the 1-1 draw with Borussia Moenchengladbach signalled their belief. Rodgers’ team also drew with Manchester City. They won in Brussels against Anderlecht last time out. Mentions to the manager that this is a free-shot are met with a dismissive glance. No game is a free-shot to Rodgers. He said: “You take each game you take as it comes. Bayern played Anderlecht at home and won 3-0 and Anderlecht were down to 10 men. “For me, looking to perform is important. We may or may not have as much of the ball as normal, but we can certainly be a threat. “Now that we are building this level of mobility and speed and technique, this is another great experience for us to go and develop yet again. “Football is not like basketball, where you maybe have 200-odd points. The ball can hit the ring and bounce out and that doesn’t necessarily have a big impact. “In football, it is slightly different and you never know what can happen in a game. We go into every game believing we can get result and this is no different. “We know the challenge. We know their team and their world-class players, but we want to fight to get a result. That’s what we will try and do.”