Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Rodgers: Celts ready to fight
BRENDAN Rodgers wants Celtic to leave their respect for Barcelona in the dressing-room before the Champions League clash at Parkhead tonight.
The Hoops boss saw his side thrashed 7-0 when the two sides met in their Group C opener in September.
Celtic are bottom of the group with two points from four games and need one win out of their last two fixtures — they play Manchester City away next month having drawn 3-3 with the English club at Parkhead — t o have a chance of playing European football after Christmas.
Rodgers, for one thing, is looking for the Scottish champions t o be more aggressive against tabletopping Barca.
He said: “You have to respect that they’re good players but you cannot take that into the game, you have to go in with a clear mind and impose your style on the game.
“It was a difficult night for us but it was also about learning and clearly we’ve shown from that performance we have learned from it.
“This is the next opportunity t o s h ow, against t hem as direct opponents, and of course we have t he i ncredible support here behind us.
“It should be an unbelievable atmosphere, but they are a team that has played i n atmospheres throughout the world, so they’re used to dealing with that pressure.
“We have to fight and ensure that we do everything we can to try to stop them — but it’s not easy.”
Meanwhile, Leigh Griffiths will be given every chance to prove his fitness ahead of kick-off.
The Hoops striker i s suffering from a tight hamstring which kept him out of the 1-0 win over Kilmarnock on Friday night.
Rodgers said: “He did the warm-up with the group yesterday morning and he’s making good progress.”