Celtic looking to bounce back -
The rout in Spain hurt but Rodgers believes now it is all about bouncing back quickly, hears Graeme Macpherson
INVERNESS has rarely been mistaken for Barcelona, not even on a good day. Brendan Rodgers will discover as much for himself today. Fresh from their humbling experience in the Camp Nou in midweek, Rodgers will take Celtic to the Highlands hoping the area’s fabled restorative qualities can help soothe his suffering players. It will be his first time in the city and he is enthused by the novelty of it all.
“No, I have never been there before,” he said. “It is a nice journey up so we will get a good look at it on the coach for three and a half hours! Inverness will be a very different challenge for us, a great challenge. Coming off the back of [an eventful] week, it will be three different types of games for us. But you have to be relentless. When you are a champion you have to bounce back.”
Celtic used to be vulnerable in the immediate aftermath of a European game but if Caley Thistle had been hoping Rodgers’ side would be susceptible following their 7-0 loss in Barcelona then history of late suggests the opposite may well be true. Not since October 2014 – when Hamilton snuck away from Parkhead with their first win there since the pre-war era – have Celtic followed a Champions League or Europa League tie by losing their next league game.
Winger James Forrest, who is set to make his 200th appearance for Celtic this afternoon, said: “Hopefully we can do the same as we have been after European games recently and get a good result. We have to make sure we don’t give people something else to talk about.”
Celtic, then, have no intention of neglecting their domestic commitments, even if there is a more pressing need to restore their Champions League reputation. Rodgers couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to recall each of Barcelona’s seven goals from the other night and ended up getting understandably mixed up. A proud man, only twice in his managerial career has he been on the wrong end of such a heavy pasting and both remain burdensome memories.
“I’ve only had two [defeats like that] in my life,” he said. “There was a 7-0 when I first took over at the youth team at Reading as academy director. I took over a system that was changing, that was ready to change. But it was my first youth team game and we lost 7-0. John Sutton scored four goals, I’ll never forget it. He was playing for Tottenham. He might not remember it but I do.
“They were a million miles ahead of us. That was my first feeling of a 7-0 and I didn’t like it. The only other result I’ve had in professional sport