BRENDAN Rodgers is hopeful there will be no repeat of the humiliating defeat to tiny Lincoln Red Imps when Celtic get their Champions League qualifying campaign underway later this month.
The Parkhead club slumped to one of the most embarrassing losses in their entire history in Rodgers’s first competitive match in charge 12 months ago.
They were beaten 1-0 away from home by Gibraltarian part-time minnows Red Imps in the second qualifying round of Europe’s premier club competition.
Celtic won the second leg 3-0 in Glasgow and then went on to qualify for the lucrative group stages for the first time in three years.
Rodgers, who was appointed Celtic manager little over a month before the meeting with Red Imps, believes his squad will be in far better shape entering their opening qualifier against either La Fiorita of San Marino or Linfield of his native Northern Ireland.
“It’s night and day compared to last year,” he said. I was watching the players as they came in and they are fit, they are sharp and it’s a case of topping up. They are in a brilliant place.
“Whenever you measure them coming back you see their body fat levels, body composition - it’s what I expect it to be for top athletes.
“The level of training has been first-class and it will be interesting to speak to Jonny Hayes (Celtic’s new signing) to hear what he thinks about coming in to this level.
“For me there is a clear difference and going into the Champions League there’s a tactical concept that is clear and we look forward to improving it.”
Asked about the Red Imps match, Rodgers said: “These games sometimes trip you up and I know the words that were used after that game.
“Games like that happen and I needed to find a solution and solve a problem. The pitch and the heat was an issue, but it was clear that I needed to look at issues.
“It wasn’t an opportunity for me to condemn the players - it wasn’t going to be simple to solve, but it was what it was.
“It was a freakish result, but we knew we’d get better. We didn’t get carried away with us being written off. It was about us dealing with pressure and looking at working better and better which is what happened as the season went on.”
He continued: “It was my job after the game to convince them it would get better but I said to them that we clearly had to go one way. It may have been a different way for them, but they showed a willingness to develop and improve.
“Getting through was the objective and I knew I couldn’t impose a style of football in such a short space of time - a uniquely short space of time, really.
“The most important thing was to qualify and find a mental toughness to do it which wasn’t easy given how the previous season ended. I was confident among the staff that we would improve. Last year we had to get through and we did.
“Lots of players have improved. Those others would have improved but they weren’t going to get game time. I think there is a clear level of confidence in how they operate.
“We had to create a mindset of never leaving game early and never being beaten. We had to work hard and press and that was the foundation to build on all the other stuff.”
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