Ghost of Red Imps has been exorcised

BRENDAN Rodgers is hopeful there will be no repeat of the humiliating defeat to tiny Lincoln Red Imps when Celtic get their Champions League qualifying campaign underway later this month.

The Parkhead club slumped to one of the most embarrassing losses in their entire history in Rodgers’ first competitive match in charge 12 months ago.

They crashed 1-0 away from home to the Gibraltarian part-timers in the second qualifying round.

Celtic won the second leg 3-0 in Glasgow and then went on to qualify for the lucrative group stages for the first time in three years.

Rodgers, who was appointed Celtic manager little over a month before the meeting with Red Imps, believes his squad will be in far better shape for their opening qualifier against either La Fiorita of San Marino or Linfield.

“It’s night and day compared to last year,” he said. “I was watching the players as they came in and they are fit, they are sharp and it’s a case of topping up. They are in a brilliant place.

“The level of training has been first-class and going into the Champions League there’s a tactical concept that is clear and we look forward to improving it.”

Asked about the Red Imps match, Rodgers said: “These games sometimes trip you up.

“It wasn’t an opportunity for me to condemn the players. It was a freakish result, but we knew we’d get better.

“We didn’t get carried away with being written off. It was about us dealing with pressure and looking at working better which is what happened as the season went on.”

“It was my job to convince them it would get better but I said to them that we clearly had to go one way. But they showed a willingness to develop and improve.

“The most important thing was to qualify and find a mental toughness to do it which wasn’t easy given how the previous season ended. Last year we had to get through and we did.