BRENDAN GIVES HIBS HIS SINGING ENDORSEMENT
But now Hoops boss aims to call the tune in Leith
BRENDAN RODGERS admits he got swept up by Sunshine on Leith and has been counting down the days to his Easter Road return.
The Celtic boss was high in the stands when Hibs dumped Hearts out of the Scottish Cup on their own patch last season and was blown away by the scenes at the end.
Rodgers has been itching to sample the unique atmosphere from the dugout but he’s hoping to leave the Hibs ends silent tomorrow.
He said: “I went to Easter Road for the first time last season for the Edinburgh derby in the Scottish Cup.
“The atmosphere was brilliant. It’s a lovely stadium and I really enjoyed it. I loved the song they sing at the end, Sunshine on Leith. It was absolutely amazing, brilliant.
“From that night I have been looking forward to taking my team to Easter Road and I’m looking forward to Sunday.
“There’s no doubt Hibs are one of Scotland’s great clubs. They’ve suffered a bit in recent years, going down, but they won the Scottish Cup and got over the line to get back up to the top flight.”
Rodgers reckons Hibs will be as tough as any side in Scotland and is convinced Neil Lennon’s troops will be in the shake-up at the top end of the table.
Hibs came closer than most to ending Celtic’s unbeaten run in the 2-2 draw at Parkhead and the Hoops boss is expecting another examination.
He said: “We were a bit jaded after the Champions League but they have a first-class manager, good players and played with good energy.
“It was a tough game but we showed our resilience to come back. We were the better team in the first half of the cup semi-final then a decision went against us for 2-1 and Hibs got energy. But we got through. But there’s no denying we’ve had two tough games with them.
“The one thing Neil will look at is the consistency. They’ve clearly shown in big games they can turn up and be ready. But there’s no doubt when they play to their capabilities they have really good quality.”
Rodgers insists there will be no European hangover. Celtic slumped to defeat to Anderlecht to sign off their Champions League campaign with just one win in six. The pundits let his side have it but while the Hoops boss didn’t hold back when criticising his side either, in the cold light of day he believes there is a bigger picture.
Rodgers said: “It wasn’t the best way to get the outcome we wanted. But we still got the outcome we wanted.
“Out of all the teams that went down the champions route we were the only team that qualified. Unfortunately we get measured against teams like PSG and Bayern Munich. But if you look at teams we should be measured against, like Ajax, they did not even qualify.
“Anderlecht are on virtually double our budget. Borussia Dortmund
qualified for the Europa League with two points and they are a massive club with a big budget.
“Look at Benfica. They are running away with the Portuguese league with a far superior budget to ourselves but they got no points.
“So for us to get through and qualify for the Europa League was a step forward. The reality of where we are, in terms of our standing in the real game, these players have done brilliantly.
“OK, the performance against Anderlecht was not the desired one. But you have to reflect on where this team has come from. A team that had not qualified for the Champions League for three years and finished bottom of the Europa League. Within 18 months we have qualified for two Champions Leagues in difficult groups and taken a step into the Europa League.
“It’s easy to criticise. We lose 7-1 to PSG – one of the best teams in world football – and the group is told how bad they are, how bad the tactics were.
“Spartak Moscow lose seven goals in midweek and it’s not about how bad Spartak were. It’s about how good Liverpool were. And Liverpool were good!
“It’s unfortunate the world we live in is all about critics. But we can’t afford to let that shape us.
“Our quality in the game was not as good as I wanted it to be. But this is a group pushed to their limit and beyond at this level. And how they’ve played and worked at times has been very good. But there’s a constant demand to get better.
“We were nowhere near our best and there was a nervousness – but we got through it. That shows the team and its resilience is improving.”