WE WILL SURVIVE
Bhoys’ tough tests but Bren’s upbeat
BRENDAN RODGERS insists there is no doubt Celtic will handle their huge festive tests against Aberdeen and Rangers.
The Hoops boss is backing his troops to keep their cool in the pressure-cooker situation at Pittodrie today.
Celtic must deliver in the North East to ensure they stay at least one point ahead of Rangers before heading to Ibrox on Saturday.
Rodgers said: “We have always played well at Pittodrie in different types of games. When we’ve had to battle, we’ve battled.
“We have gone there and played incredible football to win. They are games to relish.”
Asked if Celtic would rise to the occasion, Rodgers said: “One hundred and fifty per cent. There’s no reason to doubt it again. It’s one of the things that I’ve never done with this group – doubt them. To sustain our success we’ve had to retain hunger. We are not a timid team.”
Rodgers is also confident his players will stay calm on an occasion which has added spice after the ill-tempered Betfred Cup Final.
Aberdeen’s players were unhappy with Hoops stars such as Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig at Hampden earlier this month, claiming they had gloated in victory.
Rodgers played down those incidents but insisted his team won’t get caught up and lose focus if the game gets tasty.
He said: “Aberdeen are a good side and they have been our nearest challengers and have been second throughout my time here.
“After you lose finals, and that was the third to us, there is so much emotion attached. It’s emotion of the game so I’ll just let it go.
“You have to be aggressive but I think it has been the measure of our performances in the last three seasons that we’ve played well because of our temperament as well as our quality.
“We look to be as honest as we can to play good football and win.”
Rodgers is expected to welcome back key stars Dedryck Boyata and Kieran Tierney for the two games but the Celtic boss is adamant the next 180 minutes will not make or break their season. He said: “No, not really. They will be good and tough games but they won’t define the season.
“We’ve had a great 2018. We started slowly in the league but we’ve been finding our feet.
“The win over Dundee last weekend was one of the most enjoyable since I’ve been here.
“Sometimes you get to this point in December and the players are a bit leggy, the football is not so good and we’re not compact enough.
“But we pressed well, had good energy and were creative.
“That gives me a lot of confidence going into the next two games.
“Win lose or draw, we still have a second half of the season to come, we have a game in hand and we’ll get better.
“But these players will relish the opportunity of playing against our biggest rivals.”