Brendan Rodgers has stressed that Celtic’s unbreakable spirit can help them defy the odds in the Champions League.
Rodgers admitted his side have not been at their best so far this season and they have ongoing issues in central defence ahead of Tuesday’s Group E opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
Nat Phillips is a doubt with an ankle issue, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh are all ruled out, leaving Liam Scales and recent signing Gustaf Lagerbielke as the only two definite options for Rodgers.
Celtic are the group outsiders behind Atletico Madrid, Lazio and the Dutch champions but Rodgers is targeting progression of some sort and possibly in the Champions League.
“I think success for us as a club is to be in Europe after Christmas,” he said. “That is what our aim is. Whatever competition that is in, as long as we are in Europe after Christmas, that is our aim.
“But anything is possible in the group. We look to be competitive in all the games.
“I think it’s one where anything is possible.
“People ask you to forecast what it is you want to do and what you want to achieve but I think that how we want the play the game with our competitive spirit, that’s important in the Champions League because you are playing against top teams.
“We have seen already this season that the spirit of this team will never be broken.
“You have to have that at this level when you are a team like ourselves coming into it, when people want to dismiss you in the tournament.
“It’s about being competitive, you have to work very hard, you have to work very smart, and let’s see where it takes us.”
Rodgers was not one to play defensively in Europe in his first spell as Celtic manager and predecessor Ange Postecoglou did not compromise any of his attacking principles last season as Celtic collected two points from a group campaign that promised more.
When asked whether he would adapt on European nights this season, the former Leicester manager said: “We are not at peak Celtic, I would say.
“We have got a long way to go before I think we will be where I am happy where I want us to be.
“However, what the players have shown is that flexibility.
“In terms of style, I don’t think there is a massive difference in terms of how the players have been asked to work. I just think it takes time and understanding for that to grow, and obviously of course it’s about players as well.
“You bring players back into the squad who are out of injured and of course the football can look different because you maybe have more dynamism and more flexibility and more movement.
“But stylistically at this level, we want to play the game to our DNA, which is be aggressive when we are attacking and have that conviction when we attack.
“And that all comes from when you defend. You have to have that collective responsibility and collective resilience and, if you have that in your defending, then you can look to show that in your attacking play.
“We know there’s times we are going to be under pressure, especially away from home, but of course we want to give Feyenoord a problem when we have the ball as well.”
Phillips saw his debut cut short on Saturday when he injured his ankle towards the end of the first half against Dundee.
The on-loan Liverpool defender was replaced by Lagerbielke at half-time, although he was only scheduled to play an hour in his first appearance since his move.
He trained at Celtic Park on Monday but Rodgers later said at the De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam: “Nat has rolled his ankle so we will just have to see on that.”
T&T's Soca Warriors back in top 100 on FIFA World Rankings list; Reggae Boyz now at 56th
Eight-time Caribbean Cup champions Trinidad and Tobago have surged inside the top 100 on the FIFA World Rankings list for the first time in almost five years following recent wins over El Salvador and Curacao.
The Soca Warriors – in the latest list published Thursday – climbed four places up to 98th from 102, a spot they held in the last rankings in July. They were last inside the FIFA top 100 at 92nd in December 2018. Based on their world position, the twin island republic remains the fourth highest rated in Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz jumped two places up the FIFA list to 56th and remain number in CFU ahead of Haiti at 87th world ranked and Curacao (90th). Antigua and Barbuda complete the CFU’s top five at 137th.
In the only change to the CFU’s top 10, Guyana have climbed into 10th position with a three place move to 165th in the world, as Barbados – the result of Nations League losses to Montserrat and Nicaragua – slipped out of the top 10. The fell six places on the world list from 166th to 172nd.
World champions Argentina strengthened their grip at the summit of the world rankings. The Argentines, who dethroned Brazil at the top in April, defeated Ecuador and Bolivia in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers earlier this month to improve their status.
Despite losing to Germany in a friendly last week, France retained second place, followed by Brazil (third), England (fourth) and Belgium (fifth).
Harbour View, Atletico Pantoja settle for hard-fought draw
Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic and Jamaican side Harbour View settled for a 1-1 draw in Group B action of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup on Wednesday night at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Harbour View now sit atop the group with four points after two matches, while Atletico Pantoja played to their third consecutive draw, with three points from three matches.
The match came to life very quickly, as just five minutes into the contest Harbour View held a 1-0 lead when Omar Thompson collected a pass on the left flank, cut to his right and unfurled and sizzling right-footed shot that went blazing into the top right corner.
Atletico Pantoja went right to work on trying to even the scoreline and started peppering the Harbour View goal, namely through Frantzedy Herard and Luis Espinal, who had three and two shots, respectively, in the first half.
Atletico Pantoja kept plugging away and a lack of communication from the Harbour View defense led to a chance for Herard, who was clipped in the area, resulting in a penalty.
Captain Robert Rosado stepped up to take the spot kick and coolly converted to even things at 1-1 in the 59’.
The final half-hour saw the two sides battle ferociously in search of a winning score, but the only thing to emerge from the physical, hard-fought final 30 minutes was a point for each team as things ended in a share of the spoils.
Brendan Rodgers reveals his discontent at Celtic’s summer transfer business
Brendan Rodgers has admitted his discontent with Celtic’s summer transfer business in the same week the club announced record profits.
The Celtic boss claimed every manager would want more signings, but he made it clear he was not satisfied with what transpired.
Celtic announced a record annual profit of £40.7million on Monday and revealed they had had £72.3m “net of bank borrowings” on June 30 this year, although they have since invested £15million on transfer fees.
The Scottish champions signed nine players this summer, but when asked if he was content with the business, Rodgers said: “No. No, I think if you ask any manager they will always be wanting more, of course.
“But we work with the players that’s here. I’m not saying that in any disrespectful way, I think every manager will tell you they maybe wished they could have done one or two more signings.
“But the window closed, we had the players we had in and I’m a coaching manager, and we will work with the very, very best players at our disposal to make our performance level the best we can possibly be.
“And now we are preparing already for the January window and the summer window.”
Celtic signed seven players on permanent deals this summer – Kwon Hyeok-kyu, Marco Tilio, Yang Hyun-jun, Odin Thiago Holm, Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Luis Palma – and brought in Paulo Bernardo and Nat Phillips on loan.
Of those, only Palma and Lagerbielke started in Tuesday’s opening Champions League defeat by Feyenoord and the Swedish defender was sent off alongside substitute Holm.
Outside of Phillips, who came in late in the window after a spate of injuries to central defenders, the average age of the new arrivals was 21 when they signed.
Celtic lost three regulars from their treble-winning squad in Jota, Carl Starfelt and Aaron Mooy, and now have a larger but arguably less experienced squad.
Rodgers said: “Listen, if you look at the strategy of the club, it’s signing the younger players to develop and improve.
“I think I have said it before here, that to maximise that potential, of course, you need that balance in your squad.
“You need quality and you need experience, and that will obviously help and support potential that you have.
“So that’s something that hopefully over the course of my time here that the squad can regenerate into that way.”
Rodgers admitted pre-match in Rotterdam that his team were not at “peak Celtic”, but there were positive signs during the game before a soft opening goal from a free-kick and the two red cards undermined their chances.
When asked how close they were to clicking into gear, Rodgers said: “It’s time. A lot of young players coming into the squad, coming into the team.
“It’s a different team even from when I agreed to come in, looking at the players who have moved on and the players we have brought into the club.
“It takes that little bit of time and obviously when you are missing key players, key players can influence the level at which you play the game.
“But thankfully the likes of Reo Hatate…. he had another 55-60 minutes the other night, so that’s really good for him in terms of match practice because he has not played so much. When he gets up to speed, he will show he is a fantastic player.
“A few others are coming back a little bit later, but I would anticipate us getting better as the season goes on.”
Phillips remains a doubt for Saturday’s trip to face Livingston in the cinch Premiership after missing Tuesday’s European clash in Rotterdam.
“Nat had a heavy roll on his ankle last weekend,” Rodgers said. “We will give him another 24 hours. He has been out on the pitch so we will just assess it from there.”
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