TAKE IT UP A NOTCH
Rogers wants Celtic to show progress by beating Borussia
BRENDAN RODGERS has urged his Celtic players to take another leap forward in their Champions League development by securing victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Parkhead side produced an impressive response to an opening 7-0 mauling from Barcelona when securing a breathless 3-3 draw with Manchester City last month.
That high-intensity display provided the perfect riposte to those who questioned whether Celtic could even compete at the elite level.
Now Rodgers admits the club’s first group-stage win since 2013 — bolstering hope of European
football beyond Christmas — is the desired next step. ‘Absolutely, because it is,’ said the Parkhead manager. ‘And that was, for me, the only disappointment of the last one (against City). ‘I sat at the end of it and, while everybody was raving, I’d wanted to win the game. We were in the lead three times and there were two goals we shouldn’t have conceded, but that’s because we’re trying to raise the bar always.’ Rodgers insisted the confidence gleaned from the performance against City had made Celtic a better team. Yet he also cautioned that they remain a work in progress. He doesn’t feel his team have yet reached the stage where a strong performance will guarantee victory. ‘No, there’s still a long way to go,’ he admitted. ‘My aim here is to build a team with power, with speed, with a high level of technical ability and unpredictability. ‘One that scores goals, creates many chances and defends strongly. ‘I’ve a way to go in terms of that. We’ve made a great start with the players and the few additions we have, but there will come a point where — wherever we are and whatever jungle we are in in the world — we’ll be able to impose our style. And I’ll be happy to go to wherever it is and play our way.’ Borussia don’t travel well, having won only four of 17 away Bundesliga matches under coach Andre Schubert. Without a point in Group C, the Germans are also missing key players for their visit to Glasgow. Rodgers, however, still expects a fearsome test. ‘They’ve built their success on young players who are mobile,’ said Rodgers, who has a full squad to pick from. ‘They work the ball well. ‘They play a complex system with a back three and a flat four in midfield and they alternate between having two up front and one in behind or one up front and two in behind. So it’s a 3-4-3. ‘We’re at home, so we’ll be looking to respect them, but to impose our game on theirs.’