MILES OFF SAYS BREN
his side’s home defeat by Anderlecht.
The Belgians were too slick in the final Group B game and secured a deserved success after a second-half own goal from Jozo Simunovic.
Rodgers was thrilled at reaching the knockout stages after bagging third spot in Group B.
He said: “We were fourth seeds and there won’t be too many of those who have jumped up to third place and gone through.
“A Scottish team to have come out of the Champions League and have European football after Christmas is a huge achievement.
“We have closed the campaign and qualified. To be in the Europa League is absolutely brilliant.
“Our aim was to finish third and we have done that, so there is immense pride, but it’s hard to feel that when you’ve lost.”
Rodgers’s final statement signalled his displeasure at last night’s performance and he sounded a note of caution to his players.
He said: “Some of them think they are Champions League players but this is a good leveller for some of those guys to reflect on the performance and be better.
“It was a poor performance. Our technique was poor. The players could not play quickly enough and needed five or six touches on the ball.
“We now have a few months to put in a lot of work, there are always lessons to be learned at this level. We won’t get carried away. You see the amount of work we need to do to be competitive at this level.
“The context of the game probably affected our performance, especially in the first half, with Anderlecht having to chase the game to make up the goal difference. They were much brighter and quicker than us and the best team won.
“There is a story for some of our players in that they have a long way to go before they can call themselves players at this level. But we’ve shown over the campaign we can be better.”
Nonetheless Celtic will now bank £3million for reaching the last 32 of the Europa League and will discover their opponents in Monday’s draw.
Rodgers’s team will be unseeded and could face the likes of Atletico Madrid, managed by Diego Simeone, CSKA Moscow, Arsenal, Villarreal, AC Milan or Lazio.
Rodgers says having a run in the second tournament will be tough and added: “We have to have a touch of realism. There are going to be much better teams in there than ourselves.
“We’ve done absolutely amazing but this game was an example that there is still a long, long way to go.
“It will become even more difficult for us next year. We have to be realistic about where everything is in European football.
“We are a long, long way behind in terms of budgets and structures and others things at the top level.
“We have to try to bridge the gap. The club hadn’t qualified for the Champions League for two seasons and now we have.
“We want to make that next step. Can we have ongoing European competition? We want that in the Champions League but you have to be realistic.
“We are never going to beat PSG and Bayern so could we challenge Anderlecht who have a bigger budget than ourselves? We’ve done that. We have to find a way to bridge the gap and finish second.
“There is a lot of work for us to do but you also have to give the players great credit because they were playing a better team than us and they stuck with it, stayed strong and got the job done.
“For that they deserve a huge amount of credit.”