“If we don’t”- Brendan Rodgers now says what Celtic players will do against Kilmarnock

Everything Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media before of this weekend’s Scottish Premiership encounter versus Kilmarnock.

With such a short turnaround before the weekend, how do you expect the players to react, and do you expect them to embrace the opportunity to play Kilmarnock, the only team to defeat Celtic this season?

 

Yes, pay attention. With all due respect, I believe we are in a very different position than when we played Kilmarnock in the cup game. For 24 hours, you are disappointed; it was a fantastic night for us, and it appeared that we might get something from the Lazio game. It did not occur, but this is football.

 

When you go to a huge club, you play a lot of games, analyze them, and then move on after 24 hours. That is the group’s strength. We’ve had a couple of little upsets so far this season, and the players have responded admirably. We’ll get back on track, and they’ll be OK in a few days. We’ll be ready to play again on Saturday with a positive mindset and a lot of energy.

 

 

With the results domestically and the performance in Europe do you still see that upward curve? Are things still progressing the way you are hoping?

Yes. If we don’t concede that goal in the final minute, it’s a great night for us, and we should win or draw, but we don’t. I believe that is a continuation of how the players are evolving and operating, thus I can’t and won’t forget it. The guys we have are working really hard, and we will be ready for the weekend to demonstrate our quality and mentality once more.

Does the League Cup game against Kilmarnock have any bearing on this game? Is there anything you can learn that or are the two very separate things given it is a different ground and a different playing surface and the squad having moved on?

I just think we’re a new team with a different mentality now. There were a lot of new players at the time, but Kilmarnock deserved to win. We’ve learned our lesson and moved on. Now we must demonstrate that fierce and unrelenting approach in order to secure the three points over the weekend.