THIS IS PURE HOLLYWOOD

Bayern broken? Rodgers having none of it as he relishes showdown with superclub

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 superclub 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 Monchengladbach 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 him.

He said: “You take each game as it comes. Bayern played Anderlecht at home, 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 match 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.

“I’m not one who’s into records but if we can play as well as we did the last time we were in Germany, then hopefully we can put on a good performance.

“We grew into the game, showed confidence and pressed the game well.

“We passed it reasonably well and could, and should, have won it at the end. So we might go one better.”

If Celtic do pull off what would be an incredible result, there is little doubt Scott Brown will

be BRENDAN RODGERS a huge part of it. The return of the skipper from a hamstring issue is a huge boost for the squad, who did their final preparations for the showdown at Celtic Park yesterday morning before jetting out to Munich.

Rodgers said: “Scott has that presence in the team. He has led it for such a long time and played in it for 10 years.

“Browny is someone who gets on the ball. He has the physical courage to be competitive and the mental courage to go and take the ball.

“When you have that type of influence then of course it inspires the others round about him. He performs well in the big games so I’m sure he will perform in this one.

“I think the rest has probably helped him a bit. He looks strong and fit and has trained well.

“We trained yesterday morning. It allows us more preparation time. With so many games, it’s hard to get that preparation time. We played Saturday, you recover.

“If we travel and train at the stadium, we can’t do a tactical session. At Celtic Park or Lennoxtown, we can keep it concentrated and work on the tactics. We’ve done that for a little while now.

“After those first few games when we travelled and saw the preparation time, I felt it was beneficial to do that and then let the boys come and have a look at

the stadium.”

We will have to be at our best to get something out of this game