Parkhead boss now looks at the bigger picture
manager’s mind. And afterwards, he admitted how crucial Wednesday’s home tie was.
‘Our home game is going to be very important to us,’ said Rodgers.
‘We’re a team that wants to win the game and a team that plays offensively and aggressively.
‘So, ideally, the situation would be that we would take a lead, one as big as we possibly can.
‘As each game goes by, we are getting better. We’re going to have 60,000 fans creating an incredible atmosphere and we’ll pour everything we can into getting a positive result.
‘It will be a tough game. I’ve watched Hapoel a number of times now and they look very robust and hard to break down.
‘We may need to be patient. If we can get a victory, then of course we will be happy.
‘If you look at their set-up, it’s 5-4-1 when they haven’t got the ball. They went to Olympiakos in Greece and kept a clean sheet, so they do have that winning mentality from winning the league.
‘They don’t give away much, so we anticipate it will be tough for us.
‘Our game against Motherwell was a good example for us in terms of them setting up with a five to begin with, but eventually we wore them down, got through and got our goals.
‘If we can do similar on Wednesday, then that would be great but it will be a tough game because they have shown themselves to be a tough team to break down. Astana were a good side, a team that had been in the Champions League. Look at the teams in the last round of qualification and every one of them there will have qualities.
‘This team work very hard, have confidence and I can see that in their team. They all work exceptionally hard.
‘But we will be ready. We are getting better every day. As much as it will be tough for us, it will be difficult for them.’
‘I was really pleased with playing against a really top side in Inter Milan, who have good quality.
‘For lots of our players, it was their first 90 minutes of the pre-season. It was an excellent performance, we created chances, gave Inter problems.
‘Apart from one moment at the end of the first half where two of our young players missed out on first contact with the ball, there was a bit of naivety for the corner.
‘When Inter got their second goal, it was maybe just a bit of tiredness setting in and we didn’t reduce the space quickly enough. That allowed them time to play the ball forward and the boy finished it really well.
‘We found gaps in their defensive line and had chances, so it was a good experience for my players. ‘I wanted to be fair to the guys here and the ones who will be involved on Wednesday. The boys who stayed behind, we wanted to make sure they were physically and mentally right and they didn’t need to travel.
‘Nir Bitton trained this morning and is good with the strength and conditioning to build up his fitness. He comes into the reckoning. Erik Sviatchenko is back on Sunday training with the team. They are making good
progress.’