BRENDAN RODGERS reckons Celtic are returning to the dynamic, dazzling form that won two successive silverware clean sweeps.
The Hoops had a hiccup at the start of the campaign and lost two of their opening six Premiership games and were also dumped out of the Champions League qualifying stages.
However, the Parkhead boss, currently preparing his players for the Europa League Group B encounter with Rosenborg in Trondheim on Thursday, has admitted he can see improvement in their recent outings.
He said: “I feel now we’re back to that level that we were at for a large part of my time here.
“We’ve got two important games coming up. Over the last couple of seasons, we’ve always had very important games in midweek and then gone into these semi-finals or Finals having been really tested.
“Rosenborg will be a tough test for us, we expect that. It’s not new to us, we’ve been out there over the last couple of seasons now. We know what to expect. We know they’re a good side. Again, another champion up there that’s in our group.”
Rodgers has been without the considerable influence of inspirational skipper Scott Brown since the midfielder limped off during the 4-2 victory over Hibs at Parkhead on October 20.
The Irishman had hinted at the 33-year-old former Scotland international making a return against Rosenborg.
However, he said: “Scott’s been training now with the squad. We’ll just assess him for the remainder of the week and see what level he’s at and take it from there.”
Rodgers will turn his attention to the challenge of Aberdeen in the Betfred League Cup Final at Hampden on Sunday following the Trondheim encounter.
Australian World Cup playmaker Tom Rogic missed Saturday’s 3-0 win over Hamilton Accies following international duty, but the manager stressed: “He WILL be available for both games.
“It was just too much of a risk for him to play at the weekend. He looked fantastic in training this morning.”
