Brendan Rodgers hoping Celtic revel in ‘special atmosphere’ against Young Boys | OneFootball

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers wants his players and the fans to feel the history as they chase a win that will likely send them into the Champions League knockout phase.

The Scottish champions are looking to take their tally to 12 points when they host Young Boys at Celtic Park on Wednesday.

It has been 12 years since Celtic reached the last 16 but victory over the Swiss side could seal progress to the play-offs with a game to spare and possibly even give them an outside chance of sneaking into the top eight when they travel to Aston Villa the following week.

Rodgers was brought up on stories of the Lisbon Lions, the first British team to win the European Cup, and he hopes near 60,000 Celtic fans in the stadium can create an atmosphere that feeds off that past.

The Northern Irishman said: “Many teams will tell you about their stadium and that special atmosphere, but this really is a stadium that is iconic with the atmosphere. It’s hard to analyse that and look at that, but it’s just how it feels.

“I think a night game here in the Champions League gives us a real connection with the past and the great story that this club has with this competition many years ago.

“It’s what the culture and the history of this club has been set on – a club that won the European Cup at that time, playing the most amazing football.

“That’s what creates your culture and your history and that’s what we live to replicate each and every season that we play.

“Our feeling going into this game is to have that synergy because it’s so important. It’s what the founding values of this club have been about – connection, people together.

“We’ve seen already this season it’s the most amazing place to be in and that’s what we want to have again.”

Celtic have scored nine goals in three home games in the competition this season after ending a 10-year wait for a home victory in the Champions League proper last season.

Rodgers has been delighted to see his side begin to restore the fearsome reputation of Celtic Park that sprang from victories over the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Milan in the east end of Glasgow earlier this century.

“You know your resources and finances will be nowhere near some teams at this level, however you still have the ability to compete and play a level of football that makes your club proud,” Rodgers said.

“I think we have done that. The Leipzig game, I couldn’t be more happier with the team’s performance. How we started the game, how we responded to going behind, how we played, our pressing and everything, the pressure was there, the creativity, the chances created, the goals.

“Everything I want in the team, we saw that night against Leipzig. And that goes around. We want this place to be a difficult place to come to. It was for a number of years.

“It’s been a challenging decade for this club because of resources and everything else. But I think we’re starting to see that we really can compete. And not just compete, but play to a level of football that’s synonymous with this club.