BRENDAN’S EURO WOE
Bren blasts Bhoys for Zenit defeat:
NO courage NO belief NO chance
BRENDAN RODGERS last night admitted Celtic lacked “courage and belief” in Russia as they crashed out of Europa League at the hands of Zenit St Petersburg.
The Scottish champions were a shadow of the team who won the first leg and nobody could complain about the 3-0 defeat on a night when the home side were in total control after taking a seventh-minute lead to equal the tie.
Rodgers did not attempt to dress up yet another away game in which his team did not show the same quality as they can do in Glasgow.
“Defensively we lacked aggression, particularly in
the first half,” said a dejected Rodgers. “We didn’t close the space quick enough. We talk about defending forward and we just didn’t defend forward well enough. We conceded poor goals.
“The corner is one that can happen, we were blocked off, they worked it well and found the space. Branislav [Ivanovic] is outstanding in the air. The second goal, we didn’t engage quick enough from the throw-in. We’re too deep and have to press the guy who was shooting.
“But at 2-0, we still have an opportunity in the game. Everything was too sideways and backwards. That’s about bravery and having that courage to play.
“With so many young players in the team, you see the contrast from last week. We started the second half okay but, again, we concede possession too cheaply and they work the ball round for a cross. We should never concede that type of goal
“We were much better than them in the first leg. If we played with a little bit more courage and belief tonight, we could maybe have got a result.
“The possession is no good on its own. You have to penetrate and have that creativity. We didn’t have enough quality control to play forward in the first half. When they get to 3-0, they can control the game more without the ball.
“We didn’t threaten at all in the first half because we were too negative in our play. The second half was a little better but you have to defend better and the third goal was a very disappointing goal for us to concede.”
Celtic have now gone 12 away games in the Europa League without keeping a clean sheet, and this defeat was the heaviest n the competition since the 1991 5-1 defeat to Neuchatel Xamax in Switzerland.
And while they stayed in Europe until after Christmas, there has not been a huge step forward.
“There is still an awful lot of work for us to do,” admitted Rodgers. “When I take a step back, there have been a lot of positives for us in Europe this season. We have played very well in some games, shown some great qualities.
“Of course, we are up against the best of the best. So there is a lot of learning taking place.
“It’s about consistency, really. Last week was an outstanding performance which would allow you to think you had a great opportunity to go through but if you don’t start with that aggressive mentality, then it’s really difficult.
“Over the course of both competitions in Europe, there have been aspects which pleased me. We are taking steps forward with a lot of young players.
“We now have to finish our domestic campaign as strongly as we can and create another piece of history,”
The night belonged to Zenit and their manager, Roberto Mancini, was a happy man.
He said: “Celtic are a strong team but we played a beautiful game. The most important thing is that for 75 minutes we did not give Celtic any chances.”