“You can’t just turn the tap back off to play super defensive,” Brendan Rodgers

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·5 octobre 2024

“You can’t just turn the tap back off to play super defensive,” Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers reflects on that difficult night in the Westfalenstadion with the Celtic manager dismissing the notion that there should be an overhaul to his approach to these games when coming up against top quality opposition in the Champions League…

Liam Scales during the UEFA Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on October 01, 2024. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

“I don’t feel anything. I’m not really bothered, that’s my honest answer,” Brendan said at his media conference yesterday afternoon. “You can’t turn a tap on and off. I think if you analyse the game, you’ll see that we were trying to press the game in the static position and fall back into shape. That wasn’t to the level that we wanted on the evening.

Vidéos OneFootball

“We play how we play, it’s the same plaudits that are commending our performances over the last number of months that allow us to get into this game with this incredible optimism that we can get a result,” Brendan Rodgers said.

“You can’t just turn the tap back off and say to play super defensive. It’s just not how we play. So what do we do? Sit back and have 15% of the ball and lose 3-0? 4-0? We’ve seen teams over six months that come to us and sit back and play five at the back or 4-5-1 with no chance to attack.

“Or, do you play how you play, but know that the mistakes you’ve got to sharpen your teeth in and you’ve got to be brighter and make quicker movements to close space? All these things are part of the learning process.

“I’d much rather do that and go down with my own vision than listen to someone saying that who has never coached a game in their life or played, or whatever. I respect the opinion, but I don’t listen to it and never have,” the Celtic manager added.

Rodgers understands that if his side can manage to eradicate those mistakes and get those tweaks right, then Celtic can actually be competitive in the Champions League against the elite sides.

“That’s the challenge. Like I said, I’m not a dreamer. We want to be competitive and I think we showed in our first game that if we’re at that level and do everything right then we have an opportunity.

“There are going to be games that are a challenge for us, but we’ll do our best to get the results that we want. We’ll be judged at the end of January and we’ll see where the points total takes us, but I have a real belief in the group, and how they’ve been working,” Brendan said.

“It was a sore one the other night, but like I said there’s lots of critique around it and how you play. That’s never bothered me, we have a way of working, that same way that excites supporters and has got them really excited.

“We’ll continue on that path, but you know and I know that we’ll bounce back to an even stronger position than we were before the game. Why? Because we’ll learn from it,” Brendan explained.

The Celtic manager also explained how he goes about lifting the players’ spirits after a night like that.

“I think it’s a reassurance with all of the players. I’m quite open with it, it’s not something we hide behind and pretend that it never happened. We speak about it and talk through it. The job of course is to stay calm and keep your poise and talk the boys through it. It’s learning and growth, and it’s horrible at the time,” Rodgers admitted.

“When you’re in that environment and you’re a player, then that’s the challenge, but this group has real resilience. We can lose games, but we’ll have a great resilience. That’s a mark of this team, we showed it last season and we will show it again this season.

“We will just stay on the path that we are on. We believe in how we work and play, and we learn from games like the other night against top opposition,” the Celtic manager concluded.

Watch Brendan’s full media conference from yesterday afternoon at Lennoxtown below…

CLICK TO VISIT OUR NEW SISTER SITE – CELTICSHORTS.COM