The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Grafting will be key to victory, says Rodgers
Hoops boss wary of ‘hardworking and honest’ Hamilton outfit
Boss Brendan Rodgers has stressed that his Celtic side will have to graft for three points against Hamilton tonight.
The Hoops extended their unbeaten domestic run to 68 games with a 2-2 draw against Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday and few would bet on Martin Canning’s side, who lost for the first time in seven games at the weekend to St Johnstone, ending it in their Ladbrokes Premiership encounter at Parkhead.
However, Rodgers, whose side are preparing for their fourth of nine games this month, anticipates a difficult night.
The Northern Irishman said: “Martin always gets his teams organised and very difficult to beat.
“He has an honest group of players who work very hard and make it difficult for you. Every time you play against Hamilton you have to earn the right to win the game.
“They played well in their game at the weekend against St Johnstone but, like Tommy Wright’s teams do, they hang in there and eventually get the win.
“We’ll expect another tough game from Hamilton but of course we’re at home. We want to impose our way of working and our style on the game and hopefully that brings us the three points.”
Celtic have a Europa League tie against Russian side Zenit St Petersburg to look forward to next February, following Monday’s last-32 draw.
However, with Accies a more immediate concern, Rodgers spoke in glowing terms about his players’ mentality which has saw them continue their domestic unbeaten record.
“They have been tested every which way and you seen that at Easter Road,” said the former Swansea City and Liverpool boss.
“We want to win every single game we play and we’ve virtually done that domestically.
“But with the games you can’t win or when something goes against you, it’s important you have that resilience and mentality to not lose the game, and that’s clearly what this group have. “We still need to be better. “We still have lots of improvements to make but you also have to respect the other managers and players. It’s been very competitive and, thus far, we’ve been able to play well and win a lot of our games.”
Rodgers has no fresh injury concerns for the visit of Accies.
Loan winger Patrick Roberts remains a long-term absentee with a hamstring injury which has saw him return to Manchester City for treatment.
Canning has no fresh injury worries. Ali Crawford featured for the development team last night with the hope of making himself available for the weekend following a knee injury.
Players such as Grant Gillespie, Botti Biabi and Steven Boyd are pushing for game time after being frustrated on the sidelines but there are no further injuries following the defeat to St Johnstone.