CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers is refusing to press the panic button as he prepares for tonight’s Champions League qualifier against Rosenborg at Parkhead.
Moussa Dembele is a major doubt for the first leg encounter while Leigh Griffiths is sidelined as he serves a one-match ban imposed by UEFA for tying a scarf around a goalpost in Belfast..
The French Under-21 star and the Scotland international claimed seven goals in the six crunch qualifiers a year ago, but Rodgers could be deprived of their firepower against the Norwegians.
However, the Irishman realises he has options and pointed out: “We didn’t have a striker at Hearts and we scored five.
“That’s what you need. Multiple goalscorers. We’ve got Tom Rogic who scores, Scott Sinclair who scores, James Forrest chips in, Stuart Armstrong can score.
“We have enough goalscorers in there. Just because it’s not a traditional goalscorer doesn’t mean you can’t score. You just have to find a different way”
Dembele will be given every opportunity to overcome his hamstring problem, but if he fails to make the line-up, Wizard of Oz Rogic is set to get the nod.
Rodgers added: “That floating player forcing the centre-half to come in or come out and what you need is pace in behind him.
“It can gain you superiority in an effective area of the field.
“You will always have in your squad the reference point of a number nine.
“For me, that nine needs to be able and have mobility.
“But, if they are not available, it’s about being able to move and find other ways.
“That was the beauty of last season, what we developed from.
“The style is always the same, fast, dynamic, pressing, but the systems can change.”
Episode 5 of The CQN Podcast: A Celtic State of Mind comes hot on the heels of one of the club’s most controversial European ties in recent memory.
* What now for the Green Brigade?
* Dedryck Boyata – Are reinforcements on route?
* Virgil van Dijk – The windfall cometh;
* Farewell to Emilio Izaguirre.
Listen to the latest episode here:
