THIS IS OUR BIGGEST TEST YET
Rodgers calls on his men to stand tall amid intense pressure in Athens
THE perfect blue sky which covered Athens upon Celtic’s arrival here on Sunday evening was fooling no one. For truly the first time in Brendan Rodgers’ two-year reign as the club’s manager, there are storm clouds overhead. A growing air of frustration among the rank and file is now palpable and no one is quite sure how all of this ends.
While a 1-1 draw with AEK Athens in Glasgow last Wednesday was scarcely disastrous, it did considerably lengthen the odds on the Scottish champions securing group-stage football in the Champions League for a third successive season. If only that was the extent of the current angst.
Coming the day after Rodgers had publicly — and spectacularly — vented his frustration at the failure of his paymasters to recruit the high-quality players he had targeted this summer, the defection of John McGinn from Hibernian to Aston Villa put the board further in the crosshairs.
With a revamped Rangers making steady, impressive progress under Steven Gerrard, the sight of Dedryck Boyata’s agent alighting at Lennoxtown and ranting about promises broken would have completed a gloomy picture even had it not been for the small matter of a trip to Tynecastle 24 hours later.
As it transpired, in keeping with the theory that it never rains but it pours, Rodgers’ weakened side meekly rolled over in the capital, the zest and invention that had characterised so much of their football under the Northern Irishman to date conspicuous by its absence.
Throughout all the negativity that has somehow suddenly enveloped the club, though, one truism shines through like a beacon. In football, positive results in big matches can prove the panacea to many an ill.
A Celtic victory or high-scoring draw in the cavernous Olympic Stadium tonight may not, in itself, see Rodgers and his board link arms and dance in joyous celebration.
But after the most trying of weeks, the prospect of yet securing a £40million prize would certainly put some much needed wind back in the sails.
‘As a footballer, this is the type of game that you relish,’ said Rodgers.
‘One where you really have to show your face, show your true qualities and come out and fight. That’s something we are determined to do.
‘They have shown it often enough. There have been lots of times over my course of time at Celtic where questions have been asked of the team.
‘Our job is to always find a solution and we’re excited about the challenge.
‘It’s a wonderful city to come to and a real historical stadium, so it’s a fantastic opportunity.’
As deflating as the result in Glasgow last Wednesday ultimately proved to be, in one sense it removed all ambiguity from the equation.
Rodgers’ side have to score over the course of 90 minutes or their hopes of competing in the group stage for a third successive year will be at an end.
The sight of Moussa Dembele boarding the team flight on Sunday ahead of his expected recovery time spoke to the pressing need.
The Frenchman is unlikely to start tonight but will have a key role to play at some point.
Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard are likely to shoulder the burden from the off.
But for all the suffocating pressure of fighting for a £40m prize, Rodgers has the comfort of knowing that an early concession does little to alter the equation.
‘Nothing changes,’ he added. ‘We know we have to score but we know we’re good enough to score. That’s the mentality going into the game — we’re really positive.
‘The spirit is good and we’re ready for a great game.
‘You are never always going to have it your own way, but I think there have been enough times in the last couple of years where we have shown that ability to dig deep.
‘We have shown that spirit in the squad we have and also the quality.
‘We know it will be tested, but this is a great opportunity for us to again show that quality and spirit.’
These qualifying matches are invariably tense affairs. Tumble drier experiences, in the words of the Celtic manager.
Even after coming through the longest of nights against Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Astana in recent times, this feels like it may outstrip the lot.
‘We have had a few of those, but I think that arguably at this stage this is the biggest challenge,’ said Rodgers.
‘But it is something we relish, something that we have always done.
‘These big games, we have had a number of these.
‘We want to show our true face in terms of the quality we can play but also the mentality and we look forward to showing that.’
Rodgers harbours not a shred of doubt that the negativity of the past week will have no influence on proceedings.
Hard on the heels of venting his spleen in public at the lack of incoming transfers this summer, he sought to allay any growing fears among his squad that he was considering his future by calling a team meeting.
‘It’s private,’ he said when pressed on what was said. ‘I don’t need to go on any more about it.
‘Stability is always important, especially for football players.
‘I never normally bother with headlines because it’s noise that can be created for any number of reasons.
‘But it’s always important to stabilise the emotions of players.
‘I’ve done that a number of times and, like I say, what is said at Celtic will always stay within.
‘So it’s nothing major. Just a stabilising effect that ensures we continue on the same direction.’
Those Celtic fans sympathising with Rodgers’ plight point to the £60m he’s earned the club purely by dint of those back-to-back group-stage qualifications. Were he to pull this one out of the fire, the running tally would rise to £100m.
Such mind-boggling numbers,
though, will mean nothing to the Celtic manager when hostilities resume tonight.
‘I never do (think about the money),’ he added.
‘It’s about football. Obviously, the margins are always tight.
‘Obviously, the consequences are huge, but I never afford myself to think about that.’
For two years now, the direction of travel has been ever upwards. For the first time since Rodgers took the job, though, there is a sense of stagnation and a lack of harmony behind the scenes.
‘I just see it as a great opportunity,’ he insisted. ‘Last week we played well enough to win the game.
‘We saw their threats, they are a good side, that’s why they have entered the competition at the level they have.
‘But I have confidence in the squad and, if we play to our level, we are in with a great chance.’