‘The Brodge’ seeks his oasis in Europe beyond Christmas
BRENDAN RODGERS wants four points from Celtic’s double-header against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a bid to secure European football beyond Christmas. Celtic Park will stage the first of back-to-back games against the Germans on Wednesday night and manager Rodgers is hoping the home crowd will help galvanise his players to another memorable Champions League performance.
Having achieved his prime target of restoring the club to the group stage, Rodgers set new goals and was emboldened by the 3-3 draw with Manchester City last month.
‘Our objective was to look to be in Europe after Christmas,’ he said. ‘We felt it would be great if we could do that from such a strong group.
‘The home games are very important for us so this game against Borussia will be vital.
‘If we can come out of the back-toback games with four points it would put us in a great position.
‘They’ll be tough and it will be a rollercoaster but, being realistic, that is what you have to aim for. You look to win your home game and get something away from home, though it is not a disaster if you don’t.
‘You have to earn every single point in the Champions League. We are delighted to be in this competition and will try to rinse everything we can out of it.’
The May appointment of Rodgers energised Celtic and reversed a decline in the club’s profile in recent seasons. Champions League qualification further enhanced visibility of the team and the City clash opened the eyes of many south of the border — however temporarily.
For one onlooking rock star, the match would have been akin to a blast of sustained feedback at a packed stadium gig.
‘The people I spoke to after the game — celebrities — said they had never heard anything like it,’ said Rodgers. ‘I spoke to Noel Gallagher, who I’ve bumped into a few times at City. “The Brodge” he calls me! The last game he was at here was the 6-2 game against Rangers under Martin O’Neill and he said the City game was at another level in terms of noise.
‘We started the City game with great intensity and the crowd fed off that. It was a special night, although I was actually disappointed not to win the game, which is probably why I was a bit sullen afterwards.
‘But the performance of the players was brilliant and so were the supporters.
‘The crowd don’t get to that level if the team aren’t performing but we do have a real special connection at the minute between the supporters and the players.’
The international break offered a near two-week hiatus for Celtic but Rodgers remained plugged in to the fortunes of his absent players — especially those with Gordon Strachan’s Scotland squad.
The national coach elected not to start any of Celtic’s four Champions League players against Lithuania and only Kieran Tierney against Slovakia.
But Rodgers insists he understood the decision not to pick Craig Gordon, James Forrest or Leigh Griffiths.
‘Having won the first game against Malta, I think Gordon wanted to stick with the same team,’ said the Parkhead boss.
‘Leigh came on and had the header because he’s a boy that will always get himself in that position.
‘He scored two goals in our qualifiers against Be’er Sheva, who beat Inter Milan and drew with Southampton, so he’s shown the level at which he can perform.’
Even so, Griffiths’ injury handed a chance for Moussa Dembele to step into the lone-striker role and, having netted twice against City, the French striker will again lead the line against Borussia.
‘You can’t do it with one striker,’ explained Rodgers. ‘Leigh was in the team and doing great, so Moussa had to be patient. I put him in and out of games but his attitude was brilliant.
‘Leigh got injured, Moussa came in, now he’s player of the month. That’s what you want and players respect that. Moussa’s a top young talent, it’s clear to see that.
‘They will both be very important for us this season.’