“My unswerving plan is to make this a seasoned club at this level,” Brendan Rodgers

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·19 febbraio 2025

“My unswerving plan is to make this a seasoned club at this level,” Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media after Celtic’s harsh Champions League exit against Bayern Munich last night…

View outside the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Q: There’ll be a range of emotions after what’s an incredible evening actually, how do you begin to process what you just watched?

OneFootball Video

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, like you say, a mixture of firstly pride in the performance level. We have to remember this is Bayern Munich and I think everyone had talked about that before the game and the challenges that we have here, but I thought performance-wise we were outstanding in the game, played without any fear. We defended so well with discipline, pressed at the right moments, gave them issues on that side of the build-up and then were able to be compact and tight in the right moments and didn’t give away so much.

Celtic players inspect the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

“I think Harry Kane hit the crossbar in the first half, but there weren’t too many other real glaring opportunities for them. Yet in the first half we created really, really good chances. In the second half we have to defend a wee bit more, but we know the game plan and the game idea and then we get in front and deservedly so, I felt. Then it was just about could we get the second one? But it never looked that we were going to concede the goal that we did and obviously, sadly for us, right at the end we did. But I can only take immense pride from the performance and like I say, the guys gave everything.”

Q: What can this type of performance do for this group of players going forward?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think European credibility was always going to be important for us this season. That’s my takeaway from this campaign over the 10 games. We learned some valuable lessons along the way. We played some amazing football along the way and we’ve taken a club of this size and magnitude and, you know, a club where one of the players is maybe more than our budget to buy players what they might be on in salary.

Celtic warm up prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

“So, yes, so that and everything that comes with that, it allows us to build. Last year, I felt that we had developed even though we never got the points. I thought performance-wise it was good. I think this season has been very good. We’ve made the progress that made me want to come back. And now we’ve got to finish the season off strong, got two titles to go for, get into the Champions League next season, look to build the squad again.

“My unswerving plan is to make this a seasoned club at this level, where we can go and really hurt big opponents like Bayern Munich.”

Q: Just on the Bayern goal itself, was there an incident in the build-up, maybe perhaps a foul on Maeda? What did you make of it at that moment?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I think that’s, again, that’s a little bit of probably our inexperience at this level. Upamecano was clever. He picks Maeda up because if he stays down and it was a knock on the head, I felt the referee should have gave the free kick anyway or certainly stopped the game.”

“Maybe a more experienced player or team might have stayed down and then the referee has to stop the game. But he didn’t. He played on and then eventually, obviously, they get the goal. So, yeah, we were disappointed that we obviously didn’t get that in the build-up.”

Q: Just on your team’s performance, do you think that’s one of the best in recent years for Celtic in Europe? Because you were brilliant both with and without the ball. And then do you feel that it also shows that Celtic do belong at this level? You are a knockout Champions League team. You can go blow for blow with one of the biggest clubs in the world?

Brendan Rodgers: “Firstly, I’ve spoken to Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon. Those are two guys that have got extensive experience of European football at this club. And with the greatest respect, they were waxing lyrical about the performance and the result. And like I said, they recognise this is Bayern Munich, that we’ve come and come into their backyard and run this tie and this game here very, very close.”

Players observe a minutes silence in remembrance of the victims of the attack in Munich last week, prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

“So, yeah, I think performance-wise, result-wise, because it feels like a defeat. But we’ve come to here and we’ve got a very much deserved draw in the game. Sadly, it wasn’t enough for us.”

“We’ll look back to the first game and those little details around the goals that we conceded then. I think it can give us nothing but confidence to show that the template I spoke about defensively was very good. We limited them to not so many chances. We looked dangerous when we had the ball. We had some real good opportunities. Going forward, we can take confidence from it and look to build the squad in order to be competitive at this level.”

Q: How difficult a balance is it for the players right now? I mean, they looked, understandably, absolutely shattered at the end when that goal went in. There’s that feeling and how cruel that was versus what an excellent performance it was and what an excellent campaign it’s been. Will they realise that, do you think?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, and that’s my job to do that. That’s what I’ve done all the way along the way, whether it’s in the Champions League or whether it’s in the league. The focus around performance and the analysis of where we can be better and improve.”

Fans of Celtic wave the flag of Palestine in the stands during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

“I think tonight, I was just so disappointed for them, what they gave to the game, what they gave to the occasion. You know, we run a team that will see themselves as potential finalists very, very close. I said before the game, let’s play with no fear, don’t have any regrets and I don’t think they can sit in the changing room and think anything otherwise.”

“The pride I felt in how they performed and what they gave the game, that’ll stay with them and we’ll use it as a motivation going forward.”

Q: Everybody’s getting used to this new format of the tournament. Is one of the frustrations, I guess, that you’ve hit a team this strong at this level. You know, I mean, if the league position had been slightly different, you might have got a slightly easier draw?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, it doesn’t work like that. I think the fluidity of the competition, I thought it was really, really good. I have to say, right to the last kick of the ball in the eighth game, it could have moved up and down, you know. The reality is, when you arrive at this point in the knockout stages, there’s every chance you’re going to meet a top quality team. For us, it was either going to be Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Yep, we can look back and go, yeah, there’s maybe one or two other points or it could have got us another difficult team.”

Nicolas Kuhn of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

“No, I thought the format was really good. It gives clubs like ourselves, who are nowhere near the level of clubs like Bayern Munich, it gives us an opportunity to demonstrate that we can still compete at this level. And that has obviously worked well for us this season. And our job now is to get back in it next season and see if we can keep progressing.”

Q: You mentioned building on this and progressing. What will it take for the club, for you, to progress and to build from here?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s experience at the level. The players have come up now against top teams, top players at this level and we’ve shown that we’re more than a match. So that gives you confidence.”

Daizen Maeda elbowed in the face, head knock? Free kick? Red Card review? VAR check? Nothing…

“There’s no doubt we would want to improve the squad. Because again, if you can bring on the level of quality off the bench at this level, it’s absolutely critical. So that possibility to be able to do that. We were never going to have the resources of many teams at this level. I think if you look at the competition and where we sit in terms of that, in terms of budget and everything else, we’ll never be like a lot of the teams are. But we can certainly show that if we can have an idea and work very, very hard, that we can still be really good at this level.”

“So it’s going to be, can we improve the squad? Our confidence will improve from playing at the level and playing this well at the level. It’s just, as I said, a continual focus of a game idea and hard work and good players.”

Alphonso Davies celebrates scoring his team’s goal under pressure from Cameron Carter-Vickers during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Conor Spence

Celtic Pools – Join the Weekly Lottery and support the Celtic Academy. Why not join Celtic Pools for £1 a week with the chance to win up to £25k