Patience is a virtue Rodgers wants to see in Celtic against Valencia

CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has reminded his team that patience is a virtue that could be key in their Europa League tie with Valencia.

Valencia have proved a tough nut to crack this season, losing less La Liga games than Real Madrid and only losing twice in the Champions League – both against Juventus – despite finishing third in their group.

The Parkhead faithful wil l be r oari ng t hei r favourites on when Celtic resume their European campaign tomorrow night but Rodgers wants his men to take lessons from their 2-1 win over RB Leipzig in the group stages.

“Patience is part of the game,” Rodgers said.

“That’s the understanding of the game.

“It’s about respecting that the opponent is a good side.

“It’s up to us to ensure we go and deliver a game and an intensity in our game that gives supporters that hope.

“The Leipzig game was a wonderful demonstration of that, where we played really well in the game.

“We played ever so well but then got pegged back. They scored a goal that we c o u l d h av e d e f e n d e d better but then straight away we go and score.

“They’re always tense games because there’s so much on them but they’re really enjoyable games.

“The players enjoy them, we as staff enjoy them and, hopefully, the supporters can enjoy them as well.”

CELTIC have announced a net profit of £15.2million for the first half of the season.

Revenue decreased by 30% to £50m, mainly due to the failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages.

But the sale of Moussa Dembele to Lyon on the final day of August ensured a surplus of £17.6m in the transfer market. the

Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to leading his side against Valencia in the Europa League tomorrow.