Manager hails skill and hunger from first whistle to last

Celtic F.C.

·28. September 2024

Manager hails skill and hunger from first whistle to last

A quite blistering performance from the Celts, that flirted with exhibitionism converted into goals, made Brendan Rodgers a very satisfied manager ahead of the trip to play Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

He can now turn his attention to the noise he was turning a deaf ear to when Perth rather than Germany was the only destination on his mind ahead of the St Johnstone game.

OneFootball Videos

And a 6-0 win going on, well pick any number between that and double figures, was the outcome of blocking out the noise, and it came from a team performance that allied individual brilliance with a group mentality.

The manager said of the game: “It was everything you’d want from your team – intensity, technique, hunger, quality – so I’m very, very pleased.

‘I said before the game that this was an opportunity to really show our attitude and our mentality, and I thought we were so good in the game.’

“There was a lot of noise before about Dortmund and the Champions League and everything else, but our perspective was this is still a really important game for us, and we want to arrive at the opportunity in the best possible way we can.

“And I don’t think the players could have done any more from the first whistle to the very end, their attitude in the game was top level.”

The six goals came from five different scorers while a resoluteness in defence – for the sixth league game in a row – ensured that the Celts are thriving in the best of both worlds while the opposition have that double threat to deal with.

The Irishman added: “The team is very well synchronised in how they press, how they move, how they close the spaces, and the area that I want us to be different in than any other team - the counter-press.

“And that takes away opportunities against you, you’re not going to have 100 per cent possession, I don’t know what the stats are but we certainly respected the period when we didn’t have the ball, and worked to shard to get the ball back.”

The manager, his players, and the support can now turn their attentions to Dortmund and everything that comes with it, noise and all.

He said; “Now we’ve got this out of the way with a great performance, we know we can go there with real confidence.

“We’ve virtually got one day to define our idea for the game, and our plan, and then we’ll travel there and it’s fantastic for the supporters.

“It’s a dream and they can live it. We’re going to a great stadium and we’re going to go there to show all the qualities that will hopefully give us an opportunity to get the result.”