As he addressed the media at Celtic Park, Brendan Rodgers' mind drifted back a couple of times, possibly wistfully, to this time last year. Celtic were flying high amid a dominant start to the domestic campaign allied to strong showings in the Champions League, particularly in the first home match in which five goals were put past Slovan Bratislava. The Parkhead boss is adamant it's "not rocket science" as to why, alluding to the delay in sourcing adequate replacements for the departed Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn and the injured Jota.
As he addressed the media at Celtic Park, Brendan Rodgers' mind drifted back a couple of times, possibly wistfully, to this time last year.
Celtic were flying high amid a dominant start to the domestic campaign allied to strong showings in the Champions League, particularly in the first home match in which five goals were put past Slovan Bratislava.
By contrast, Celtic have only scored once in three European outings this season. The Parkhead boss is adamant it's "not rocket science" as to why, alluding to the delay in sourcing adequate replacements for the departed Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn and the injured Jota.
"Of course we're not scoring as many goals as normal but the team is still showing a really resilient side," said Rodgers.
"We haven't lost this season. Defensively we're very strong. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand where and why we haven't got the goals, because a manager can always transform a team, but the trajectory of a team will always come down to the level of players that you have. That has not changed in football.
"It's not rocket science, it was the same way back years ago as to what it is now. The players ultimately will transform the trajectory of your football.
"So for us, we brought some new players in, we give them time to settle in. Once we've done that, we support them and the players that are here.
"We continue to work with them and look to push the levels as we go through the season."
Rodgers insists Celtic will give the Europa League their fullest attention, even if many supporters are at best ambivalent about European football's second-tier competition.
"It's very important," he said. "We didn't earn the right as a club to be in the Champions League. We wanted to be there but we're not.
"We're still in a prestigious competition, so for us as a team and coaches and players we really look forward to this challenge.
"We're going to come up against some really, really good teams. So for us, it's still a great tournament to be involved in."
Category: General Sports
