BRENDAN Rodgers last night urged his Celtic players to go out and stun the football world – by opening their Champions League campaign with a victory over a Paris Saint-Germain side he believes is capable of winning the tournament.
The French champions have assembled the most expensive strikeforce in football history this summer by signing Neymar for £198 million from Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe from Monaco in a £165m deal.
However, Rodgers is confident his side, who will field Leigh Griffiths up front after the centre forward recovered from the calf strain which ruled him out of Friday night’s win over Hamilton, is capable of getting a famous result.
“I think it should be a great spectacle,” he said. “In these types of games attitude is everything. You can’t look too closely at them, or think too emotionally. PSG are put together to win this competition, there’s no doubt about that.
“PSG have brought in Neymar and Mbappe who is an amazing young striker, so their focus is clearly on winning it. But it’s a game we’re really looking forward to.
“Maybe not many people were watching the Hamilton game on Friday night, but certainly the eyes of the world will be on this game.
“This is a game to go and enjoy. Make no bones about it, this is a superior team to us. That’s the reality of it with the quality of the players and where they’re at.
“But for us we take an attitude into the game. We’re very much a team and have the ability to play in this type of game. We have speed, strength and power so it’s a great chance for us to make a good start.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us, but one we’re determined to embrace. They have to feel us breathing very close to them. That’s how we play domestically and it’s how we play in other games in this competition.
“You can’t do it for 90 minutes so you have to dip in and out of the pressure. But it’s our job to progress with real aggression.”
“Leigh is available. He trained on Sunday and Monday and he’s fine. With Leigh, it was just unfortunate he got the injury because he was on really good form. He’s a wonderful player and has developed over the last 12 months. At this level he’s been very, very good so it’s great to have him back.
Meanwhile, Rodgers has welcomed both Scott Brown, his captain, and Jozo Simunovic, his first choice centre half, signing new deals with Celtic which tie them to the Parkhead club until 2019 and 2021.
“I’m delighted for both players,” he said. “Scott has been a great captain here over many years. He’s consistently played at a very high level. We’ve been talking about a new contract and it was just about getting through the qualification. So I’m delighted.
“Jozo is a young player who had a focus on his injury from the past but this is a great arena for him to play. He’s in coaching environment where he needs that development. Once he’s fit and trains consistently he’s an outstanding talent.
“So it’s great news for our squad because we’re trying to build and create something here. ”
Rodgers is hopeful Celtic supporters will be sensible about what they can achieve in the Champions League given the size of their budget in comparison with their rivals.
“There has to be a sense of reality,” he said. “We talk about making a mark on the group -– with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich and Anderlecht. We have to have a sense of reality on it as well. You cannot get carried away and try to pretend we are something we are not.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here