CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers is wary of a rejuvenated Bayern ahead of their Champions League encounter at the Allianz Arena tonight.
The German giants fired Carlo Ancelotti following their 3-0 Group B loss to Paris Saint-Germain last month, with Jupp Heynckes returning to take charge for the fourth time.
In his first game back Bayern beat Freiburg 5-0 in the Bundesliga and that did not go unnoticed by Rodgers, whose side are on three points with the Munich side after two games.
The former Swansea and Liverpool manager, who confirmed centre-back Jozo Simunovic would be out with a hamstring injury while skipper Scott Brown and fellow midfielder Stuart Armstrong are available again, said: “They have obviously changed management and that has given them a little bit of a bounce effect.
“Just seeing the change from how they had been playing, on Saturday.
“You always look at players and how hard they work and how they press and certainly in Saturday’s game Bayern Munich’s counter press went to a different level to what they had been.
“So that is something that we will have to cope with.
“Obviously the new manager came in for his first game at the weekend. He is someone who is respected throughout the club and a lot of players here know him very well, they know how he works.
“Sometimes you get that effect. How long it lasts, time will tell. But for us, however that effect is, we respect that we are playing against some fantastic players.”
“No matter how your league form is, this is a competition that you want to do well in. So I think they will be motivated, they will want to press the game and show their qualities.
“We need to be resilient but we know that we can come away from home, play football and score goals and that is our intention.”
Rodgers will have to reshuffle his back-line once again and although he bemoaned the loss of Simunovic, he welcomed the return of Brown and Armstrong.
The Northern Irishman said: “Jozo came back into the team after being injured and performed exceptionally well and you always want your top players available.
“But he had a slight reaction to the injury he had before and unfortunately he is not available. He felt a twinge in training the other day so we just need to wait and see.
“It is a huge boost for us (to have Brown and Armstrong available). Both players have different qualities. Scott has real leadership qualities and ever since my time here, he has performed.
“He is a big-game player so he will impose his way of playing and that is always a big inspiration for the team.
“Stuart is a player who has grown at this level, he has good mobility and a goal threat.
“So it is good to have both those players available and it makes our squad a bit stronger.”
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