STAND TALL
Boss wants Bhoys to ‘play the Celtic way’ against giants Bayern
BRENDAN RODGERS last night urged Celtic to show no fear and prove they have the nerve to outgun Bayern in their own backyard.
The defiant Parkhead gaffer has told his troops to play their own game against Munich’s megastars in the 75,000 Allianz Arena cauldron tonight.
And if Celtic are going to lose then Rodgers is demanding they do so fighting. The boss – dealt a huge injury blow with Jozo Simunovic ruled out – has
been irked by his team standing off big guns Barcelona and PSG and being hammered in the group stage by scores of 7-0 and 5-0.
Rodgers is determined to get into Bayern faces and wants to see his men do themselves justice by doing it their way.
He said: “We have a duty to play our game. That is what we have already spoken of.
“If you are going to lose football games, especially at this level where you are up against it in terms of the opponents, then it’s as long as you play how we play.
“Our disappointment against Barcelona and PSG at home was we didn’t quite impose our way of working. So our message is we have a duty to play how we play and that is to attack and to be aggressive.
“The players have shown over the course of 16 months the improvements they are making.
“It takes a little bit more time at this level because of the level of opponent but you can still go out and impose your game.
“We have done that in European games and this is a great opportunity for us again to show we have that nerve to play.
“It can intimidate but what we have here is facing a team that plays 4-2-3-1. The winger comes inside, the full-back goes outside, the striker peels off the shoulder.
“If you can get up to people, which is always the challenge when you are pressing at this level, you can do something.
“You have to be together. I am looking forward to the game. We will see how we can go and perform and let’s see if we can take something from it.
“The beauty of this team is we rise to the challenge. Each game we go into, we try to put on a positive performance and see what we get from that.”
Meanwhile Rodgers insists Simunovic must find fitness to fulfil his potential. The Bosnia star rocked the Celtic boss in being ruled out of tonight’s Bayern clash.
Simunovic suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury and Rodgers admits the stopper won’t reach the very top if he keeps breaking down and missing matches.
He said: “It’s unfortunate because part of being a top class player is games and playing. In order to show you’re a top player, you have to be available.
“I’ve only been in here just over a year and a lot of that time it has been inconsistent. But we just need to see where he’s at and hope it’s not too serious.
“Some players mechanically this is how they are. He’s still a young player but if you want to have a career in the top flight, you have to be ready to play two and three games a week consistently over a period of time.
“As a coach and a manager you want that stability in your centre-half positions. That’s the norm because you build your base around that set up.
“We’ve never been able to do that which has meant trying at times to bring in others or change the shape.
“There’s disappointment. He didn’t go with the national team and stayed and responded to treatment. He was pushed to the limit and ready to go with the group but unfortunately had a twinge that sets him back.
“It’s unfortunate for Jozo but someone else will come in and play. I’m pretty clear in my mind what I’ll do.”
Nir Bitton can cover but Rodgers hinted Cristian Gamboa could get the nod with Mikael Lustig moving to the centre. The Costa Rican impressed on his first start this season at the weekend.
Rodgers said: “Cristian went away with his international side, got a bit of game-time and was very good against Dundee.”