We can meet any challenge says Rodgers as Celtic eye 11-point gap
● Boss insists win over Dons proof that pressing tactics not the reason for end of glory run at Hearts
Celtic will bid to establish an 11-point lead in the Premiership this lunchtime with a victory against Dundee at Dens Park, a scenario that manager Brendan Rodgers says is proof his team can face down any challenge.
The Scottish champions are without a win in three straight away games after their last road trip resulted in the wheels coming off the club’s 69-game record unbeaten domestic run as a high-pressing Hearts dominated them physically to win 4-0.
Rodgers, pictured, maintains that any suggestion this offered up a template to opponents for overwhelming his team was knocked on the head by the 3-0 dismantling of an Aberdeen side employing similar tactics at Celtic Park on Saturday.
“I think we were 19 points in front going into the break last year. I am not going to cry if we’re not, but, if we get into a position where we have a double-digit lead, then I think the players would deserve a huge amount of credit. Whatever the lead is, to play the number of games we have and to do so at such an intensity, it’s been really phenomenal,” said Rodgers, whose last game before the winter shut-down will see Rangers hosted on Saturday in what will be Celtic’s 38th game of the season.
“When we lost to Hearts, it was because Hearts deserved to win the game. There was loads of stuff, the pitch was awful, but the thing was it was us. We weren’t very good on the day, either collectively or individually. But over the course of 71 [domestic] games now, we have faced everything. There have been teams such as Aberdeen who want to press us, who are a good team, Rangers have tried to press us, teams have sat deep, we’ve been to astroturf pitches and teams have pressed us on that.
“We haven’t been good in some games, very good in others, so over this run that [ the Hearts defeat] wasn’t the first time teams have tried to press us. We’ve had it a number of times. That day, we just couldn’t find the solution.
“It is a tribute to these players of how they got over that disappointment. That’s the job of the manager and coaching staff to tell them that we go again. Aberdeen pressed well, which is why they got a result like the [4-0] win over Hibs. But we score most of our goals from 60-90 minutes because physically and technically the team is in a good condition. We always have to improve and we will do in the second half of the season.” Rodgers will place a major onus on the work-rate of his forwards to make that happen. Moussa Dembele produced an industrious performance in the victory over Aberdeen.on-loanparis-saint Germain striker Odsonne Edouard has also been given a more prominent role in recent times and responded with diligent displays.
None of the club’s front players has found the net in the past five games, a period during which Leigh Griffiths and Dembele have been used more sparingly than Edouard. Against that backdrop, Rodgers reiteration of the requirements that must be met by the player he hands the central striker role could be interpreted as a warning to his two more established goalscorers.
“Moussa worked really hard
against Aberdeen but that is what he’s asked to do. It doesn’t worry me about how many goals the strikers get, it’s no use to me if I’ve got one who scores 50 goals and the rest of the team doesn’t function. I said that when I first came in.
“If you play in this team, you have to be able to press from the front. You must be able to read the game defensively,” the Celtic manager said. “Once you do that then you’ll get an opportunity to play. If you don’t, there will be someone else getting that opportunity. I have three good strikers who understand that now and I think young Edouard (pictured) coming in has opened up the eyes of Moussa and Leigh even more.
“Like I say, it’s about the team and the three guys know that. A striker will always want goals and games. But, for me, it doesn’t matter. We have built a team here to score from every area on the field, but there is a demand on that central striker.
“Modern-day football is not just about just standing there and scoring goals; you’ve got to participate.
“But the players know that. There is no change from when we first came in.”
Celtic’s squad and management spent Christmas night in a Dundee hotel, having travelled up last night following a 5.30pm training session at their Parkhead stadium.
“You have to work,” said Rodgers of the curtailed festivities of his player because of today’s game.
“It’s not rocket science. You could easily let them go home, but you have to earn your money.
“There is a price to pay. If you want success and to be consistent, then you must work. It’s a privileged life but you have to make sacrifices.”