BRENDAN RODGERS laughed off suggestions of a fear factor in Belgrade – even before a ball is kicked in tomorrow night’s Europa League opener against Red Star in the Serbian capital.
Much has been made of the Celtic players being put under pressure during the so-called intimidating 100-yard trek down the tunnel from the dressing room to the pitch at the 50,000-capacity stadium.
Rodgers smiled and said: “Obviously, I’ve heard the walk takes about two minutes.
“I’ll have to speak a bit quicker at half-time!”
The Hoops gaffer is looking forward to the spectacle and commented: “What an amazing occasion to come and play at a really historic stadium and everything that goes with it.
“You go and do what you can. When it comes your way, you accept it and grow from it.
“I’m very much looking forward to it. I saw the England game here a few weeks back and there was a good atmosphere in the stadium.”
Following the failure in the Champions League after two fairly dire displays against Kazakhtan’s Kairat Almaty, Rodgers is looking for a massive improvement from his team and an encouraging result in Belgrade.
The Irishman, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “Certainly, we want to have a real good go at this competition.
“We really want to push to do as well as we can.
“A win? Well, it would be the first step. I think that we don’t want them to get the win tomorrow night.
Images courtesy Celtic TV.
“For us, we look to get a positive performance, take a positive result away with us, and that’s what we will be aiming for.”
Rodgers added: “You don’t have to press every single ball, you’ve got a few moments to press, to block the game, and then you can still play your football.
“There’s no bigger example of that than the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich last season.
“To be able to do that there, play to that level against such opposition, and the performances we had in Atalanta and Zagreb – going away and getting a point in the Champions League – that really showed how much we’ve progressed.”
Something similar against the dangerous Serbs would be welcome.
