Brendan Rodgers: We'll set out to win the game against Aston Villa

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Celtic F.C.

·28 janvier 2025

Brendan Rodgers: We'll set out to win the game against Aston Villa

It has already been a successful UEFA Champions League campaign for Celtic, with Brendan Rodgers’ side having secured a place in the play-off round of the prestigious tournament with a game to spare.

With three wins, three draws and just one defeat, the Hoops cemented their place in the top 24, and they will find out their play-off opponents following Wednesday night’s round of fixtures.

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For Celtic, that eighth game is an away tie against Aston Villa, and it’s a contest that the Hoops boss and his team are looking forward to.

And Brendan Rodgers enphasised that, despite having achieved the goal of progressing from the league phase of the competition, the target for Celtic is a positive result at Villa Park.

Speaking ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash, the Celtic manager said: “For us, it’s a great achievement to be in the top 24. I think if you look at the economics of it all and at this level, the players have been fantastic.

'They’ve stayed with the idea, they’ve worked very hard and what we set out to do, which was to, firstly, arrive in the play-offs, and the players have done that, so it’s great.'

“But our job’s not complete in this series of eight games. We come here to a great venue against a fantastic team, but we want to come and play to the level that we know we can do. So we’re really looking forward to it.

“I think Unai Emery’s done a brilliant job here. His body of work over many years has been top-class but you can see that here he feels wanted and appreciated, and you can see what he’s doing with the players in the league and what they’ve done in the Champions League this season.

“So we know that we’re playing against his team, which is a very good side, very strong in counter-attack, they defend very well and they’ve got some brilliant players, but it’s a challenge that we’re looking forward to.”

One player that the Hoops could be facing is someone that the Celtic manager is very familiar with.

Belgian midfielder, Youri Tielemans is a key figure in the Aston Villa midfield, and it was Brendan Rodgers who brought the player to England when he signed him for Leicester City back in 2019.

“Youri was absolutely brilliant for me,” explained the Hoops boss. “He was a young player that we spent a lot of money on, bringing him to Leicester, and I’m so pleased to see how he’s done here.

“You have certain players in your squad, and he’d be very much like Callum for me, where he was a coach on the pitch for me. His view of the game was absolutely first-class, even as a really young player.

“He’s just a really top player in his mentality and attitude, and then we were really lucky to share a special moment in winning the FA Cup for Leicester for the first time, when he scored a brilliant goal.

“When I see him now he’s very much a leader on the pitch for Aston Villa, how he plays the game, how he organises the players around him. He’s a really good guy who’s a top professional.”

The current league phase standings in the UEFA Champions League, sees Celtic in 18th, facing an Aston Villa side currently ninth in the table.

And regardless of the fact that both teams will be progressing to the next stage of the competition, the only focus for Brendan Rodgers and his counterpart will be on winning the match on Wednesday night.

“We set out to win the game,” the Hoops boss said. “There will be moments when we have to adapt in the game to their qualities in how we defend.

“But certainly, when we have the ball we want to be able to play well because the better we are in attack, the less you have to defend in the game.

'So, for us, it’s always about the balance in our game. We set out to go out and win the game and we’ll look to attack the game.'

“As I said, our job is done in terms of getting into the top 24 but it’s certainly not complete and this is the last of the group-stage games and we come here – it’s a beautiful pitch, it’s a great arena, so we want to come and play to the best level that we can.”

Brendan Rodgers explained that Cameron Carter-Vickers will miss the game against Aston Villa, although he is set to return for the weekend, while Daizen Maeda is suspended.

The Celtic manager also confirmed that Alex Valle’s loan spell at the club has come to an end, with the defender returning to Barcelona.