IF YOU SGCROATTET YOU’LL SEE GREAT SCOTT
Rodgers: Like Suarez..the more you wind him up, the better he becomes
BRENDAN RODGERS believes record-breaker Scott Brown will go down as a Celtic legend.
And the Parkhead boss has likened his skipper to Luis Suarez – the more you wind him up, the better he gets!
Rodgers has urged Brown to lead his troops to a cherished first group-stage home win of his reign.
The Celtic midfielder’s appearance in tonight’s Group B showdown against Anderlecht will be his 69th in Europe’s premier competition and see him surpass
Kenny Dalglish’s tally to become the Scot with the most outings in the tournament.
Rodgers insists earning the accolade will merely speed the Celtic captain’s path to one day being discussed as an icon of the club.
He said: “He’s the real tactical engine of the team.
“He really dictates, he’s the brain of the team. He’s a brilliant player and he’s a credit in how he captains the club.
“He’s like a pantomime villain when he goes on the pitch and that stirs people up. Luis Suarez was the same.
“The more you got after him, the better he was. You find that with the good players.
“Every ground we went to with Suarez, he got absolutely slaughtered and he’d then score hat-tricks or doubles. Browny has that same real belief in his abilities.
“That edge that the really good players have, Browny has that and it doesn’t matter if it’s Ibrox or the Allianz Arena, he performs. He is certainly the player of dominance for us.
“Whenever the time comes, and it won’t be for a few years yet, he will go down as one of the great legends of this club.
“He is still creating the legend and he still has a lot to achieve here.
“It’s when you’re gone and your time has passed, that’s when you get truly appreciated and I think that will be the case with him. He’s a wee bit daft at times. Laughing and joking and taking the p**s out of himself.
“But don’t underestimate what he is achieving and what he has done in the game.
“It’s really nice because I had enough people telling me when I came in here that his legs were gone.”
Celtic have not won a Champions League group game in Glasgow since seeing off Ajax in October 2013. Rodgers has had to contend with the likes of Barca, Manchester City,
Bayern Munich,
Paris St Germain and Borussia Moenchengladbach, but now sees a realistic opportunity to back-up his team’s win in Brussels on Matchday Two and give the fans a night to savour. He said: “We want to win for the supporters. We have been in two campaigns now and we want to get a home victory.
“We have had good performances against top teams and, obviously, we have learned a lot of valuable lessons.
“Now it would be nice to finish off our campaign with a great night and a great result.
“When you come into this level of competition, it is brilliant to be in it and bring that level of player to the supporters.
“It also allows them to gauge the level of European football, see the quality.
“But it would also be nice to get three points and a win to celebrate.”