Rodgers to protect star Jozo
But the Celtic boss insists he won’t bar his players from logging on to social media as long as they see it as a force for good. Hoops and Scotland skipper Brown was taunted on Twitter in the wake of Wednesday night’s 1- 0 Champions League win over Rosenborg. A vile message about the death of both his sister Fiona and former Parkhead boss Tommy Burns from cancer was sent to the 32-year- old. Rod g e rs – who abstains from all social media – was staggered by the crassness and revealed he’d talked about it with his squad. He said: “I spoke to the players on it and said it’s incredible. We’ve had Scott Sinclair with the racist stuff and the Scott Brown stuff the other day. “I can’t fathom how someone can say that. I can only a s s ume it ’s someone who’s sat in a room, doesn’t come out the whole day, has nothing to do and doesn’t see the sun. “They’re just on a computer and have nothing else better to do. “I don’t get it. I think most people wouldn’t get it. I am aware of it and it’s my job to help manage it. “But it is a strange world we are in that people think that is OK to write. It’s about what can be done after it. How can you actually write that and get away with it? How can you put something out there publicly and get away with that? It’s incredible.
“Social media is a great tool for a lot of positive things but it opens up so many doors for things like that, which I find incredible.
“I’ve said to the players it’s part of success. People try to kill you and you have to take it for what it is. You have to regulate it somewhere in your mind and try not to think about it too seriously because if you did it would drive you mad.”
The Northern Irishman refers to anything that interferes with his squad’s focus as background noise. His job is to stop it making its way into the foreground.
Rodgers said: “It must knock you for six reading something like that – something will give inside you, which is why you always try to help the players cont rol the background noise and stuff like that.
“But ultimately you try to focus on your football.
“It’s a world that is hard for me to talk about because I try to ignore all of that stuff.
“But would I ask them not to participate in it? I wouldn’t. It’s a different era now and there are so many positives for people in how it functions and how it works.
“If there was a way in which you could privatise it, maybe. I don’t know. But I would never say to a player, ‘Don’t use it, don’t go near it.’
“It’s my choice – I do that. I don’t have Twitter or anything like that because in my world it can come in at you as well. In my world I regulate it and don’t have it. Don’t need it.”
However, Rodgers does operate a strict regime over the use of mobile phones. And he insists the rules create far better harmony between his players.
He said: “We spoke a lot about that over the last year, about controlling background noise.
“And I’ve always said we will do our talking on the pitch and stay focused on the ways in which to control all of that and play well. That has worked well for us.
“We limit the use of their phones here. Outside of the changing rooms players don’t use them. They are not walking about on them.
“And when you are having a meal, you’re talking – you’re not on your phone. They get f ined if they’re on them outside of their room, outside of the changing rooms.
“When we are on the bus or anywhere, OK they can be on their phones – but they have to be on silent so we are not having them ringing and all that noise.
“We are strict in terms of how it works. I understand you need it and it is there but we limit it. It’s a bit old school but the boys actually enjoy it because they know when they come out of the changing room, that’s it.”
Rodgers’ side will put the first part of a Treble earned only 10 weeks ago on the line on Tuesday night when their Betfred Cup campaign gets under way at home to Kilmarnock.
And he added: “We are ready for it. When we came back for pre-season we spoke a lot about it when we were away in Austria. We talked a lot about the pitfalls and the traps of this season.
“Now we are back in our rhythm the players are really focused and we have set new targets.” to health last season after a knee injury kept him out for nine months.
And Rodgers is reluctant to risk his star on the Killie artificial pitch on August 19 followed by a run out on a hybrid surface at Astana three days later.
The Celtic boss said: “We have to consider the load he has but he’s much better and has gained more strength in his knee.
“He’s not an injury concern but we have to monitor it especially when you look at playing Kilmarnock and Astana away on artificial pitches.
“Jozo is an inspirational young player. If the ball is in the box he’s normally got his head on it.
“He knows his lines of pass now. Once he’s a player who’s fit and in rhythm he is very good.”
Meanwhile, Simunovic insists Celts’ confidence is riding so high it didn’t matter who they drew in the Champions League play-off round.
The defender said: “We believe in ourselves and it doesn’t matter who comes when or wherever we go. We just want to play our game.
“We know we need to win if we want to get into the Champions League, so the goal is simple.”
Simunovic missed last year’s clash with Astana through injury.
Celtic needed a lastminute penalty winner from Moussa Dembele to squeeze past the Kazakhs 3-2 on aggregate.
But Jozo said: “This year is different. We are a better team now.”