‘I’M VERY PROUD,’ ADMITS RODGERS AFTER LOSS

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BRENDAN RODGERS sifted through the carnage of a 4-2 defeat from Aston Villa as he searched for positives following a painful loss.

The Celtic boss had just witnessed another away-day reverse in the Champions League to sit beside the 7-1 drubbing in Dortmund in October.

Now the Hoops face the challenge of either current holders Real Madrid or Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in the play-off stage with tomorrow’s draw determining if it will be a trip to Spain or Germany next month.

Rodgers winced as his wobbly rearguard, missing the commanding presence of the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers, presented the Midlands club with a two-goal advantage inside five minutes.

CHEERLEADER…Brendan Rodgers urges on Celtic from the sidelines.

Remarkably, the visitors fought back to make it 2-2 at the turnaround courtesy of two excellent strikes from Adam Idah, but lapses gifted Villa two more goals to obliterate any hopes of salvaging something against Unai Emery’s side.

Reflecting on the eighth and final qualifying tie of this season’s rollercoaster European adventure, Rodgers said: “I thought we actually started the game well in those first couple of minutes and we showed a confidence and authority with the ball, but then we got done with two quick goals.

“And that then really is a test of your nerve, your heart, your mentality and the players shone in that aspect right the way through the game.

“We scored two fantastic goals and we went into the second-half and knew we would have to defend, but we still had some good moments with the ball.

“The game’s in the balance right to the very end, but there was a mistake which puts a bit more of a shine on the game for Aston Villa, but there’s nothing but pride.

REFLECTIONS…a pensive Brendan Rodgers after the 4-2 loss. 

“We’re putting on some young players who have never played for Celtic, never mind playing in the Champions League before.

“So, putting them in and, like I say, they showed a great mentality and a great desire right the way through the game.”

Paying tribute to two-goal Idah, the Hoops gaffer, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “There’s obviously a lot of pressure being the striker at Celtic and Adam hasn’t quite got the goals that he would want, but I thought his two finishes were excellent.

“For the first goal, he’s had to adjust quickly and showed great athleticism to finish. The second goal is a brilliant team goal and he’s at the end of that to finish off.

“Overall, I thought he carried a real threat and was a handful for Aston Villa.”

Looking ahead to the play-offs, Rodgers added: “We’ve built a really good foundation this season and shown that we can compete and play the game to the level that we want, and shown that we can also defend.

HEAD-SCRATCHER…Brendan Rodgers looks for positives.

“Clearly, at this level, if you make mistakes you’ll get punished and you’ve also got players with big quality.

“But, overall, we were very competitive over the course of the eight games which gives us the 12 points, and now gives us a really exciting tie for the players and the supporters.

“I’m very proud of the team, which gives pride to the club and to the nation and then we can hopefully continue to grow over the coming years.

“It’s absolutely amazing, all the effort and commitment, everything, to end up with one of those two teams.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, but we can go and, like we’ve shown at this level, make it really difficult for teams.”

HOOPS IN BLUNDERLAND

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