“The game was getting stretched in that last half hour, so we introduced a bit of speed into the game.
“We changed the shape of the team and went with three at the back which was good for us because we could then stretch it with Scott Sinclair and his speed out wide on the left and Patrick Roberts on the other side.
“They’ll be fresh for the weekend and that was the plan. It couldn’t have gone any better. The game was played at a good tempo.
“We know Aberdeen will be a hard game – all the games have been that way. The scoreline looks good, but that’s a credit to the players for their spirit, work and quality.”
An early goal from Roberts set the Hoops on their way to their eighth victory from nine Premiership games before strikes from Armstrong, Sinclair and Dembele – with his 15th of the campaign – made certain of the points in the last 10 minutes.
Rodgers added: “We ask the players to play at a very intensive level in the attacking areas. We need that high up the pitch and the players who came in delivered that – Emilio Izaguirre has been out for along time and was outstanding.
“We kept a clean sheet and as good teams do we started the game quickly and finished strongly and produced a very good performance.”