CELTIC kick off three games in three different competitions in eight days when they take on Hibs in the Premiership at Parkhead this afternoon.
The quest for a fourth successive title will be followed by a visit to Croatia on Tuesday to face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League and then Brendan Rodgers’ men will bid for the first silverware of the season against Phillipe Clement’s Ibrox side in the Premier Sports League Cup Final at Hampden a week tomorrow.
The hectic schedule is welcomed by the Hoops gaffer who was more than delighted with the vim and vigour on display during the team’s 1-0 victory over Aberdeen at a stormy Pittodrie on Wednesday as the visitors opened a seven-point gap on the north-east club with a game in hand.
A BIG HAND…Brendan Rodgers applauds his Celtic players after their 1-0 win over Aberdeen at rain-lashed Pittodrie.
Now the focus turns to the challenge from the capital today against an Edinburgh side who have already been beaten twice in this campaign, 2-0 in the league at Easter Road and 3-1 in the League Cup in the east end of Glasgow.
Rodgers said: “What has been so pleasing over the course of the season is the variety of ways we can win. That’s always important as a team.
“Our ethos here, and our idea and our style is always to play fast, aggressive, attacking football, always with tactical discipline.
“But you always have to respect that other teams are not going to allow you to do that all the time. They’re going to come and make it difficult for you like Aberdeen, who’ve done really well this season.
“They were very compact, tight, they break the game up so you don’t quite have your flow, you then have to persist in your work, trust your possession and the speed of your game in horrendous weather conditions.
“And then look for those moments which might only be few and far between, but you have to try to find them – and that’s what we did.
“So, I think over the course of the season that’s been the real pleasing aspect of our wins and none better than the game the other night to demonstrate that.”
HEADING FOR A FALL…Reo Hatate is sent flying following a slide tackle from Aberdeen defender Sivert Nilsen. The Japanese midfielder had the last laugh.
The Celtic gaffer, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “After Aberdeen, it was get back, recover and then look to bring our game and be really pro-active in the game today. So, I’m looking forward to it.
“We love playing at home, we love the energy – our last home game [5-0 v Ross County] we were absolutely brilliant and our idea is to bring a similar game and that’s something I’m excited about.
“I’m not going to say that you don’t look ahead. Of course, you do. That’s the nature of my job and I have to plan forward, but you always have to look to the next game as your priority.
“You have to plan forward but that’s an exciting part of the job. It’s absolutely brilliant. I’ve got a great group of players who are hungry, they’re ambitious and they all want to play, which is great.
“If they don’t, they respect whoever is playing, they look after their colleague and then we’re all in to get the result.”
Rodgers added: “We’re all in a really good place and I think that’s also part of the rotation.
“If you don’t have the depth of squad, and the strength in your squad you’re maybe having to play players for 90-plus minutes three times a week, playing them all the time and then you have a greater risk of injury.
“What we’ve been able to do is manage the minutes of the players and where there has been maybe a little niggle, we can take someone out, or if someone has played a lot more minutes, then we have that possibility to take them out.
“That’s the benefit of having a depth of squad. So, I’ve really enjoyed that aspect of it – picking the teams to put out and giving that opportunity for some of them to have some breathing space.”
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