Manager: These are belief games and the players have that spirit

Celtic F.C.

·22 de octubre de 2024

Manager: These are belief games and the players have that spirit

The Celts head into matchday three of the UEFA Champions League having experienced both sides of the coin in their previous two games in the tournament.

From the high of a resounding victory over Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park, the Hoops were in the receiving end against Bundesliga giants, Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

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Now, the side face a high-flying Atalanta side in Bergamo with the Serie A outfit having won the UEFA Europa League last term with a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin.

Manager, Brendan Rodgers said: “We’re looking forward to the experience. It’s a very good side, very aggressive team, very attacking, and for us it’s that compactness in the team which is very important.

“We weren’t tight enough in certain moments in that game (Dortmund). Of course you add to that the quality that they finished with.

‘For us, we deserve to be here in this competition and it’s always important to install that belief in the players.’

“You know you are going to have to defend well and be strong in your duels against a team that is, in terms of defensive organisation and how they work, pretty unique.

“You’ve got to be able to deal with that, play through that pressure, but also be really strong defensively.

“It’s the aim we go into every game with, but, going into the games at this level it’s even more important.”

Looking back at the Dortmund game, the manager added: “As a football player you don’t want to be sat in the dressing room feeling that again, that’s something that the players know themselves.

‘This is a level about belief. These are belief games. You have to go into these and really believe you can get the result.’

“It might not always go your way, but you certainly have to go in with that belief.

“I just think in the Dortmund game those things went against us very early on in the game. Then their quality and their confidence takes over, and you end up on the back of a really heavy scoreline – and that’s on me.

“But, we hope to learn from that, and that’s the case. This is the long game here in Europe in terms of what we are trying to achieve, not just this season, but going forward.

“One of the reasons I came back was to show that we can make that progress.

“And that isn’t something that happens in one game or two games, but certainly the players will go into tomorrow not wanting to have that feeling that we experienced.”

“But this is a team where the spirit and togetherness is so strong, and for us it’s about that tactical discipline, having that togetherness, and having that belief in your quality.

“If you have that, then you’ll always be in with an opportunity to get a result."