Manager: We're excited for the Aberdeen challenge | OneFootball

With the international break over, tomorrow (Saturday) sees the return of domestic football as the champions face second placed Aberdeen at Celtic Park in what is set to be a brilliant top-of-the-table clash.The Celts have been in perfect form domestically since the start of the season, with seven league wins from seven games putting them in pole position in the table. Tomorrow’s opponents, however, have also had a flawless beginning to season 2024/25, and only goal difference separates the teams going in to tomorrow’s match.For the Hoops’ boss, the prospect of facing an in-form Dons side is one which he is looking forward to and, speaking to the media today, Brendan Rodgers praised Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin for their impressive run of form, but said that the Celts will meet the challenge as they always do.

“We’re really excited about the game,” he said. “It’s a great game to come back to and get ourselves back in to it very quickly.

“I’ve been really impressed with Jimmy’s team. You win seven straight league games and you’ve done really well, so we look forward to the challenge tomorrow.

“Clearly Jimmy’s a really good coach and has good coaches around him as well and they’ve started the season on a real high.

“Aberdeen is a big club, so the expectation is to be up there, challenging and fighting with ourselves.”

The Hoops went in to the international break on the back of seven straight victories in the league and two wins in the League Cup which has secured a semi-final spot against Aberdeen in November.

This run of results, allied with some impressive performances so far this season, is something which gives Brendan confidence that his side can pick up where they left off as they return from their international duties.

“What I know is that it’s never going to be perfect,” he said. “But you’ve just got to get to work and it’ll correct itself.

“It’s always a challenge when players go away and they play in different styles and systems, and then you’re trying to recalibrate it all back again when they come back.

“We’ll go out there and give our very best performance and get to the level we’ve been at.

“I’ve been really impressed with our start, and not just the results. I’m talking about the identity of the team, how we’ve played, how creative we’ve been, how forceful we’ve been.

“It’s really about looking to continue that performance level.”

One player who returned to Lennoxtown this week after being away with the Scotland first team is Anthony Ralston, whose performance against Portugal at Hampden earlier in the week drew praise from his manager.

Brendan added: “He was brilliant and I was so happy for him. He’s such a great professional.

“It’s testament to how professional he is, whether it’s with Celtic or Scotland, every time he’s called upon he can come in and play 90 minutes and give his all.

“I thought against Portugal he was excellent. He defended really well, got forward when he could and he was unlucky with the cross he played in.

“He’s such a brilliant player for us to have and he’s such an important member of our squad.”

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Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Aberdeen - Sat, Oct 19th 2024, 15:00