Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Had us playing a better tempo today. Needs to keep that up.

Still got issues to resolve especially at right wing and in midfield. January will be massive for him. Important he recruits well.

 

Play your best players and goal getters..

Engels and Nygren have a mix of dynamism (Engels), both break beyond as runners, both can spot a pass, score goals (Nygren)..

I don't wanna see stale, slow midfields and chopping and changing all the time..

Big win. We all needed that..

 

Need to got 4231 with McGregor Engels and Nygren ahead ,

 

It's time for him to focus on getting the players into a good mindset. Stop the political team selections and give the guys a reason to bust a gut for you.

The tactical stuff is pretty poor but he can negate it by giving the individual players confidence instead of belittling them in the press.

 

I thought his subs made a positive difference today unlike the last few games when weve needed to score.

 

I thought that was a brilliant win today, despite a poor performance for most of the game.

For the players to show that belief and desire right up until the end and for the subs to make such a big impact is a really good reflection on the manager.

The players clearly still believe in him and that Champions mentality is still there. We've hit a sticky period but Rodgers is the man who'll get us through this.

 

The speed of play, more co-ordinated aggression in the press and more vertical passes today. That needs to persist.

 

Mentally it was massive..

Subs really stepped up. Could feel that total swing and that we were gonna actually bag the 3 points late on. No been feeling like that lately and feels like ages since I cheered a goal like that..

Injury time winners never get old..

 

What are your thoughts on that today and the performance from the team?

It was a fantastic win for us. You can see why Motherwell haven't lost a game. The build-up play, how they build the game up and the confidence they play with.

The coach deserves a huge amount of credit because we had to be really on it and organised in our pressing. We get a goal from that, but there were other moments where they came through the pitch. They deserve a lot of credit for what they gave to the game.

I thought our players deserved it. The mentality of going behind in the game. It's not easy to play here when you go behind. We kept fighting.

Subs coming into the game made a great impact for us. That final 15 minutes of the game, where we had them pinned back and moving the ball at speed and creating opportunities, was great to see.

We're nowhere near our level. That's the reality. I think we can all see that in terms of where I would want us to be.

But you have to get results when you're a player or a manager for Celtic. You have to find a way, and you have to dig deep and show heart. The players did that today. Amazing.





You're talking about nowhere near our level. It almost seems to be epitomised by Daizen Maeda out there. He was the best player in the country last year and won all the awards. As you said yourself, he's not been at his highest level this season, but he's still out there and scores that last-minute winner. How big a goal can that be for him?




He just deserves so much credit. I'd seen him before I came in here, and then for over two years now, he's given his heart and soul to this club. It's well documented what happened in the summer and that's not easy.

If it affects a player like him, then you know how deep it goes. But what he's done is he's turned up still every day. He's playing for me in probably the third position, if you asked him, because we have a gap on that side.

He's just got on with it. You see the difference the minute he comes over. His pressing, the intensity, everything changes for him.

I just felt he's the type that can nick you a goal. He gets in and a nice little move and he gets the goal. So, so happy for him and his family because he's given so much to this club and he will continue to do that. But a great night and evening for him now.









Are you pleased with Michel-Ange Balikwisha's input as well for that winner?
Yes, he needed to feel something in the game. It's not easy for these guys coming in to play for Celtic.

I've spoken to them, because Celtic's great, you look on the outside and you see trophies and you see big games and you see European football and it all looks great. But actually, then you come in and you realise, wow, the expectation here and what I need to do and every single day of my life. And then I have to produce then on match day.

So I think for him, it's all been a wee bit of a blur. But I'm sure over time he'll prove to be a really good player here. His little body work to let the ball run across and a great cross in for Daizen and to finish will be fantastic for him.








Given all that's going on here at the centre and the round pegs and square poles and all that, is this the toughest test of your time here at Celtic?

I think when I first came back it was a challenge. But yeah, having to work so hard to try and get balance, try and get speed, try and get everything into the team when there are certain characteristics that are missing from the squad.

But you need to win. You need to find a way to win. And I do believe that as the season goes on, we will be better.

The people that have watched us, you see the speed in the team that we've had over the last few seasons and it's not quite the same. However, we have to find a way.

We have to find a way to get the win and the players have done that today. Showing a big heart, a lot of spirit, great determination and a lot of fight, which is what you need over the course of a long season.






I saw the celebrations in the stands, it was quite animated with all the build up to that?

There's no doubt that, and I see myself as trying to see if we can pull it together on the pitch, which can help unify everything.

Because that's what Celtic's about. Celtic's that feeling. And clearly, the feeling isn't quite right across the club.

It's not right. However, on the pitch, you have to win and you have to continue to win. And this is why I'm so proud of the players today.

Because you see, when we went 2-1 down, a couple of misplaced passes, you need to hold your nerve here and deal with pressure. And the players found that calmness and found that ability to create the opportunities, and then eventually one goes in for us. So, amazing for the supporters.

Even though we've only lost once this season so far, during the week, it's still been a challenging summer to this point. But that's for them, and it's for them to enjoy that. Because we thoroughly deserved it. But it was a good game.





What can that maybe do for some of the new guys as well? Because it may be the first time some of them have experienced that power of Celtic Park when the equaliser goes in and the crowd are actually with you?

Well, that's right. I think that's all part of the experience here for those guys to understand it. The guys that have been around know the difficulties and the pressures that are there.

But yes, it's that feeling that you get. That's what Celtic is. And to win a game against a team that's very well coached and how they play, that was a really good win for us. And for them, it will give them a huge boost.








Brendan, can I ask you just about the league table? Obviously, you're two points behind Hearts going into the October international break. What have you made of them? Are you surprised to see them so high in the table?

If I'm honest, I'm not really looking at it. I'm really not. It's still so early in the season.

My focus is on ourselves. I've got so much to concentrate on here. It doesn't really mean anything now at this stage.

Of course, everyone wants to start well. Hearts have started well. Kilmarnock have started well.

But there's still such a long way to go. I'm just proud of this group of players that are having to dig in, having to fight, win. We don't have the same profile of players and we don't have the same fluidity as of yet.

But today, we showed a big heart. We'll see where we're at.











The tendency with Daizen this season, when he's been on the right, he's maybe not been as productive in the last few games. But when he's on the left and in the middle, he looked more like himself last season. Is that something you're going to be persisting with going forward?

I don't really know. I don't really know. We're constantly trying to find... If you put him on the left, then... not unless you can play on the right, can you?

But yes, there's no doubt. His left side and middle is where his strength lies. But it's the continuous job of looking to find the solutions. I think that normally over the course of pre-season, you're finding out all these things, and then you arrive into your season and you're ready.

We haven't been able to do that, so you have to find out within the games themselves because we're playing mid-week games. There's hardly any training. So that's something I need to see in this period of games, which I have done. Now we can go forward from there.

Are you looking forward to time on the training pitch during the international break?

It is, but there won't be so much because a lot of the players will be away. It's not like you have the whole squad and you have them for two weeks before Dundee.

A lot of them will go away. Some of them will recover a little bit. But we'll be ready for Dundee and on the back of a really good feeling from today.

We'll look forward to a wee bit of a rest, but get to work and then we'll be ready in a couple of weeks.

 

Got shown up by Askou today, if that team wasn’t Motherwell but some middle of the road Europa side we’d have lost today.

Rodgers in firmly to blame now just as much as the board.

 

Great achievement despite the circumstances surrounding the club.

 

A boot to the baws delayed for now, but maybe shouldn't be.

 

who else can he try at rw before giving yamada a shot

 

As * as he is, Yang is a better bet than Maeda in there.

 

Glad for a two week break to try and come up with some solutions and give newer guys more time on the training ground.