I can’t spend millions on a centre-half ..that’s why it’s my Bhoys against men
Brendan hoping kid defenders can focus on blanking Russians
BRENDAN RODGERS can see clearly that a clean sheet holds the key.
Trouble is, the manager is acutely aware Celtic will need eyes in the back of their heads to get it.
Throughout preparations for tonight’s huge test against Zenit St Petersburg, Rodgers has drilled the importance of constant concentration into his kid stoppers Jozo Simunovic, Kristoffer Ajer and Jack Hendry. What he can’t do is drill holes in the back of their skulls.
At the top level it’s ruthless. Celtic were exposed to the harsh realities in the Champions League and the Russians also possess the weapons to blow the Hoops apart. Rodgers knows the dangers. Zenit were top scorers in the Europa League group stage, winning five games out of six.
Yet no matter what the manager does or says in the build-up it’s down to the likes of the Bosnian and the Norwegian to spot it when the crunch comes. Switch off for a second and you’re done. Rodgers can’t buy a tried and trusted stalwart to handle it. He needs to educate his youngsters to do so and believes tonight offers another acid test of their credentials and brutal test of their resolve.
He said: “You can’t take your eye off anything for a second. You’ve got to be constantly concentrated because of the level of player. Sometimes we give away soft goals purely on concentration level, nothing else.
“Domestically you can maybe assess the position and come away. At this level you’ve got to keep checking your space because the minute you come away from it and you don’t check, they’re gone.
“We saw a goal against Bayern Munich like that. Our centre-half checks the winger, thinks he’s in good position, doesn’t check again for a few seconds and when he looks back he’s gone.
“We have to be real, you’re not going to get a 25 or 26-year-old centre-half who’s at the top of his game. So at Celtic you’re either going to have a young player that you’re nurturing, developing and coaching and putting into these situations to be better, such as Simunovic, Ajer, Hendry.
“Or you have the centre-halves at the other end towards the end of their careers with that experience.
“Celtic won’t be able to spend £20million on a 26-year-old centre half so the only way you can work it is by giving them coaching and experience.
“It’s a harsh environment to be trying to learn in but that’s where we’re at and we have to always find ways to help the players improve, to find the solutions when they do have issues in games.
“It’s important for us to defend well. That has been the disappointment for us at this level. If you can take a clean sheet from your home game and go away then you could argue it could be difficult then for the home team in the second leg.
“There’s that bit more anxiety, more pressure. We saw it in Rosenborg. We saw it out in Astana. There was a period of 20 minutes where we conceded goals but the minute we got the goal we killed the tie.
“Probably sometimes what has deflated the crowd a wee bit is when we’ve made mistakes and given away cheap goals. The idea is to hopefully not do that.”
While defending is key Rodgers also sees an opportunity for the attacking unit to step up.
Moussa Dembele will lead the line and having made Europe his stage last season the Frenchman has the opportunity in two games against Zenit to re-establish himself as one of the continent’s top young marksmen. Rodgers said: “For us to do anything at this level it has to be as a team but Dembele has shown enough of his gifts.
“He has been unfortunate this season with injury and then through December and January.
“He is beyond all that now and is back on track and working hard.
“His focus and concentration is good and when he’s at that level he’s a real handful and he is one of the top young strikers about. It’s been difficult for him to get into his flow in the season but he looks up to speed now and much happier with the contribution he is making.”
Clearly, top performances from the likes of Simunovic, Ajer and Dembele could be pivotal but the manager is looking for an overall enhancement of his squad.
Although not vehemently critical the boss outlined the need for improvements in the wake of the last Euro home tie when Anderlecht won 1-0 in December with the minimum of Hoops resistance.
Rodgers wasn’t having a go. But he was pointing out there is a long way to go until his players are the finished article. Zenit offers a terrific chance to take a big step and he said: “It’s just having the confidence and belief. I said before they’re always going to be tested to the limit, particularly in the Champions League.
“Then in games such as this it’s always going to be a stretch for us. What we have to try to do is somehow just edge a way forward and that comes through experience, that comes through being around these games as much as we can.
“As long as we show that belief and confidence I can’t ask for any more.”
“The games we’ve lost we’ve played some really good matches. We drew with Man City and you see the level they’re at. Bayern was a good performance but ultimately we just lose out.
“Each year becomes even more difficult. The level of opponent is really high. Any win, whether it’s home or away at this level, is something you really have to earn.”
CRAIG SWAN