Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers on their stunning 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava in the opening game of their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign
Celtic Park, Glasgow, UK
Celtic Park, Glasgow, UK
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00:00Brendan, congratulations. First of all, you could have wished for much better than that on the only night of the Champions League, could you?
00:09Yes, the competition stops now, we play Bayern Munich in the final.
00:14But no, it was a great night for everyone.
00:17I thought that you just sensed it before the game, the feeling in the crowd.
00:24I'm so proud of the team.
00:26The intensity of which we played at with and without the ball was so good.
00:33And yes, it was a great night.
00:35The first half was impressive, and obviously you got the quite early goal, which I guess settled anything else that might have been there.
00:42But it felt like at the start of the second half, you'd maybe asked them to go out and really just take it up a notch further.
00:49Is that close to being that close?
00:50Yes, I thought we played well in the first half,
00:55got the early goal that we wanted, had other opportunities to be more clinical.
01:02But I just felt it was just that we were having one touch too many.
01:06Our ability as a team to play with a touch-pass tempo and with less touches just speeds up our game.
01:13And just a couple of little positional changes, where the structure was, there was too much movement at times in the first half,
01:21so we needed to keep our position and then that allows you to get through the pitch quicker and then obviously get into the areas that we wanted to.
01:29And from showing some of that at half-time and then, say, in the second half, right from the off,
01:36the players were absolutely sensational in the game and just everything, mentality, hunger,
01:42greedy for more goals, greedy for the ball, everyone working right to the very end.
01:47And we could have had more than five, so it was a really good performance.
01:54Yes, a brilliant team performance and so individually, each of the players, I think, performed superbly as well.
02:00But can I ask just about Arne Ingles, who's come in here as a 21-year-old,
02:04obviously a big transfer fee on his shoulders as well, which has nothing to do with him,
02:09but he seems to have just slotted in very easily.
02:14He's taken on the responsibility of set pieces and so on, for instance, as well.
02:18And obviously, taking his two penalties that he's been asked to take in the two games, he started superbly.
02:24Yes, it was a great identification by our recruitment team,
02:29because we knew after last year what we wanted and what I wanted in the team,
02:33which was someone who has got all the ideas that we want in terms of with the ball and technical and tactical ability.
02:42But at this level, you need to have a physicality and running power.
02:46And he was one that the guys identified a number of months back last season.
02:53So we knew he was playing in a top league,
02:56but we felt we could take him to here and improve his game.
02:59He's a dead ball specialist, so we know his delivery at Augsburg was very good.
03:05He was the set-piece taker.
03:08You see his strike, just the power with which he hits the ball.
03:11It's just the level that he can get to.
03:14I'm really pleased for him.
03:17Obviously, he gets his goal, it's 2-2, he shows really good composure.
03:20But the overall performance of him and the team was very pleasing.
03:25Brendan, you talked about mentality.
03:26You've had some difficult nights in Europe, but what does that say about the team tonight,
03:30when there was an expectancy to go out and do it in the manner that you did?
03:34I think it shows the growth.
03:37And like I said, it's never an easy game at this level.
03:40You've even seen them in periods of the game where highly technical players,
03:46some players with big experience,
03:49that have played in top teams.
03:54But we coped really well with that there and dealt really well with it.
03:57So, like you say, there's a big expectation to get into the game.
04:01But for us, it was really important not to complicate things.
04:04Just play our football, play how we play,
04:08and see if we can put them under that stress to try and live with it.
04:12And I felt the intensity right from the off was superb.
04:16And in particular, second half, when we really turned the screw, it was very, very good.
04:20And had other chances, really good possibilities to score more goals.
04:25And that's what we want.
04:26We want to be really, really difficult to play against with and without the ball.
04:29I was just going to say, how does this now set you up for the coming games,
04:33given how good that was tonight?
04:35Yes, well, listen, it's the start that we want.
04:38I don't think we could have asked for a better start other than having the clean sheet,
04:42which was unfortunate that we didn't keep.
04:46But we know our next three games are really tough games,
04:49but they're exciting games for us.
04:51But I thought tonight we had to make a really good start in the competition.
04:56I think we made a fantastic start.
04:57We got three points on the board and it's now a back-to-back win at this level
05:03from the end of last season to the last game up against Feyenoord and here now.
05:09And it's a little step, but important steps for us moving forward.
05:13Just to add to that, Brendan, you spoke before the game about the team having the belief.
05:16They seem to show that.
05:18What can this result in performance really do for them going forward?
05:21I think it is. I think at this level, it is.
05:22It's all the big belief games.
05:24And it's been really difficult over a long period of time for Celtic at this level.
05:28But I want to change that mood and that feeling
05:33and we've worked on that from the beginning of pre-season
05:39to get to this point where we can have that belief.
05:41So, I think it's a big testament to the players and how hungry they were in the game.
05:46And like I said, this is a level, just don't overthink it.
05:50I think that's what's key.
05:51Everything, the razzmatazz around the Champions League is amazing.
05:54You see the stadium wrapped and all the Champions League, it's absolutely brilliant.
05:59But we're playing a team that's defending in 4-4-2,
06:02that we'll play against at times here in the league.
06:06OK, it's different tiers, different levels,
06:09but it's still our same idea of how we want to work.
06:12And I think the confidence that we've built through pre-season,
06:15begin the league and we take it into tonight,
06:18I think we've clearly seen that.
06:19But that's the level and we want to keep showing that.
06:23Just on that, Brendan,
06:25you've spoken right from the start about doing more in European football
06:28and that felt different tonight.
06:31What's the key thing that's changed? Is it the team? Is it the attitude? Is it the club?
06:35What's changed that it feels more possible now?
06:38I just think it's growth, isn't it?
06:39At this level, you have to,
06:43one, you have to have a level of player alongside a mentality.
06:48And I think that what we've done is we've strengthened the squad,
06:51which has given confidence to the squad.
06:54You bring in good players, they know that it ups everyone's game.
06:58That ability to have competition
07:02will take away any complacency that can have within the group.
07:06But like I say, I think it's just given the players the belief to play our game,
07:13because those goals that we scored tonight,
07:15you'll have seen them numbers of times at home.
07:19And sometimes I think at this level,
07:22people can dress it up and think because you're playing in the Champions League
07:24that you might have to do something different.
07:25You don't. Just get the intensity in the game,
07:28make it really difficult to play against us,
07:30in our pressure and intensity and fight for the ball.
07:33And then that will then activate you with the ball.
07:35And I thought that the players did that.
07:37So, I just think we know where we want to get to as a club,
07:41and tonight was a nice step.
07:42And we're going to look forward to the rest of the games.
07:47Brendan, just to touch on the belief thing again,
07:50is it a bit like rebooting or resetting the narrative around this competition?
07:54Because there's been some bruising nights in the past.
07:56Yes, there has, absolutely.
07:58And I've been in a lot of those.
08:01But like I say, I came back to look to improve us as a club at the level,
08:07because in my career, I've won big games,
08:12and I know what it takes to win big games.
08:14And I felt for us as a club and as a team,
08:18we want to make that and should want to make that next step.
08:22And it's a huge credit to the board that they supported that over the course of the summer.
08:26And you see the likes of that then on show this evening.
08:30So, yes, that belief is important,
08:36but that comes from a level of play and it comes from the work that we're doing with the players.
08:41So, yes, it's a great start for the guys and they thoroughly deserved it.
08:47Brendan, that's back-to-back wins in the Champions League.
08:53It's also back-to-back Man of the Match awards for Liam Scales in the Champions League.
08:58You must be really delighted with how he's developed.
09:01He's become a real big game player for you.
09:03Yes, he's a really good header.
09:07I said before, he probably didn't get the credit that he deserves.
09:11And I think some of our boys, sometimes it's the way, whether it's the local guys.
09:17I've seen that all my life as a coach.
09:19The British players, the Irish players,
09:23they might not be the stellar name,
09:27so everyone's looking for something else.
09:31But these are the guys that stand up.
09:33Every week for you, the Greg Taylors, the Liam Scales, these guys,
09:37and they're absolutely pivotal to what we're doing.
09:40And Liam, as you see tonight, he gets a fantastic goal
09:45and was really strong and played very, very well.
09:50So, yes, I'm really pleased for him because he's been a really consistent performer for us since he's got on the team.
09:58Ronnie?
09:59You've spoke a lot about the growth of this squad.
10:03I just wonder where your excitement levels sit at the moment,
10:07looking at this squad and what they're capable of.
10:10Just how excited are you and how excited should the fans be for what this side can achieve?
10:15Not just in the Champions League, but overall with the quality that you've added?
10:20Yes, I think it's just developing the mentality.
10:23The Celtic supporters come to see an attacking brand of football, an aggressive game,
10:28and they're seeing that. They're seeing a team that's given absolutely everything.
10:31And, of course, you want to improve and I think there's still a lot of improvement to come within the team.
10:37Players coming in, looking to settle at the club, looking to adapt to how we play.
10:42People will think, well, why have some of the new boys not played as much?
10:45But this is a different intensity.
10:48We spoke to Arne Engels on that.
10:50He's coming out of the Bundesliga where he's played a lot of games.
10:54But even he, coming into this intensity and this level,
10:57it was a big adaption for him, just the whole speed of the game.
11:01So, we have to be fair to those players and give them the chance to train with the team for a little bit of time.
11:06And then we can start to work them in when required.
11:09But whilst we're doing that, we have to keep the rhythm of the team.
11:13And so, at this moment in time, the rhythm is very good.
11:18And we want to keep developing that and improving it.
11:19So, it's the joy of being the coach and manager.
11:24You hopefully get the chance to see that over the coming months.
11:28OK, all good.
11:29Thank you very much, guys.