Brendan Rodgers on Celtic sealing UCL play-off spot against Young Boys

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Brendan Rodgers on Celtic sealing UCL play-off spot against Young Boys   22/01/2025  uefa24  Celtic Park Stadium, Glasgow, UK

Transcript

00:00a little bit of the ball, but still, you've got to stay strong

00:03and then you've got to keep persevering.

00:05And I thought that the players aren't that.

00:07And actually, the winning goal,

00:09to show that level of composure in the 80th minute of the game,

00:13to build the game from the keeper right the way through the team,

00:16out onto the side of the pitch and then an absolutely incredible pass by Rio.

00:21And then we get that little bit of luck for the winning goal that we never had in the first half.

00:25So, I've been involved in many of the games here

00:29where you end up drawing that game and it's a bit flat at the end.

00:33And even worse, lose a game when you shouldn't have.

00:36But for us to win it, I think it shows the maturity and it shows the development of this squad.

00:41So, I'm so pleased for everyone.

00:44It certainly wasn't flat at the end tonight.

00:47You could sense what it meant to the fans,

00:50the achievement of progressing to the next stage.

00:53Can you just sum up again what it means to yourself and the club as a whole?

00:57Yes, well, I think the club is always the most important.

00:59And the supporters, from the first whistle to the end,

01:03they can see that the players need lifting and that pushing.

01:08And they come in all the way through the game,

01:12but especially at the end, when they know that the players need that help

01:16to just keep them going and keep pushing forward.

01:18So, it's a little bit of history created.

01:21We haven't been in the knockout stages for a long time.

01:26And so for the supporters, it's an amazing night.

01:30And obviously for the club, it's really good.

01:33And I think if we look at progress, we've won three games,

01:37we've drawn three games, we've lost one.

01:39And over the course of the Champions League, it's a really good consistency.

01:43And I know it's a terrific achievement in itself,

01:47but you go into the Villa game, just a point behind them,

01:50knowing that anything from that game...

01:53I guess you can go into that game and just set your sights on doing

01:57as best as you can, but knowing that you could even move further up the table.

02:02That's the idea.

02:05It's a great stadium to play football in.

02:10The atmosphere will be great.

02:12For us, we go there and we'll finish off the eighth game,

02:16like we wanted to do in all the other games,

02:19which is to go in and play well and look to win the game.

02:22Obviously, they're a fantastic opponent, but we go there with no fear

02:27and we look forward to it when it arrives.

02:30Brendan, when you returned to the club, you said you wanted progress in Europe.

02:35This is certainly something you can look at.

02:37How much more progress can this team make?

02:39Because it seems to be developing all the time in Europe.

02:42It's just time and patience and support, isn't it?

02:45And of course, you've always got to be improving squads

02:50and developing the individual players, but the players are doing that.

02:55I think you've seen where they've come from from last season,

02:58where I thought we played well but didn't quite get the points.

03:01To now come in this season, to have

03:0512 points at this stage is absolutely fantastic,

03:08from where the club has been over a number of years at this level.

03:12So, I think that's clear to see and what can we do?

03:15It's just the idea is to hopefully be able to sustain this level

03:20over the coming years, but we have to make the first steps and qualify

03:23and we've been able to do that, which is a fantastic achievement by the players.

03:29I know you said that the most important thing is the club,

03:31but is there a personal satisfaction there as well?

03:34Yes, clearly. It's obviously a privilege to be here and manage here.

03:38There's been so many

03:40critics of Celtic at this level and there's no doubt

03:44it is a challenge at the level, but the players have stepped up.

03:49They've been absolutely superb over the course of these seven games.

03:52The setback that we had in Dortmund,

03:55we learned from and now the players on a night like tonight, they get their reward.

04:01Brendan, did you have belief the whole time in the game?

04:03You said, at this level, there's always the opponent's going to come into the game,

04:07but did you have belief in your players the whole time that they were going to go and get that winning like they eventually did?

04:12Yes, well, I think we've shown that, haven't we,

04:14in the games that we've played, in the competition, especially at home.

04:18We've shown over the course of the whole season that we can score goals at the level.

04:21In the main, we've been defensively strong.

04:24It's just that perseverance and resilience to keep going.

04:30As I said, this is a level where,

04:32despite young boys and their record, they've got good players.

04:36That's why they were Swiss champions and Switzerland, you see as a nation, is a very good football nation.

04:41So, yes, but we have to.

04:45It's the mentality and the crowd kept driving the team on and we got the reward at the end.

04:49So, yes, we will always fight to the very end and the players showed the benefits of that.

04:56We've been running some simulations here, trying to work out the possibilities for the final game.

05:00You still can finish in the top eight.

05:02Is that what you're going to be telling your players when you go down to Villa Park next week?

05:06I haven't really thought, to be honest.

05:07I think tonight was such a big night.

05:09There was such a big expectation on the team.

05:11I think everyone looking at us at home and playing against a team that hadn't won

05:17and thinking that it's going to be easy and there's absolutely no game at this level as easy.

05:22But we didn't get disappointed.

05:24We kept going.

05:25We kept fighting.

05:26We kept running and, like I said, we kept believing and we get the point.

05:32So, we have to recover and a game at the weekend and then we'll look forward to the eighth game at Villa.

05:38As I said, it's an amazing stadium, one of the great grounds down in the Premier League

05:44and we'll look forward to that when the game comes.

05:48Brendan, without talking about the top eight and that kind of thing,

05:51but just in terms in general, what would the message be to the players?

05:54Don't stop, don't seal into this, keep dreaming, keep pushing, keep going.

05:58There's more you can achieve here.

06:00Yes, I think what we've shown is that, as I said to the players beforehand,

06:08whenever we played Leipzig and we talked about starting fast and making it a running game

06:16and being really aggressive and everything else,

06:21we hadn't quite had that sort of performance.

06:24But now we had that Red Bull performance.

06:26It's now reality.

06:28You can play at that level against really good teams and you can defend,

06:32because Atalanta was a big one for us as well.

06:35You see Atalanta every time you look, they've either scored four, five, six goals.

06:39So to go there and keep a clean sheet, that also gives you confidence.

06:43So for us as a squad, it's just continuing to grow at the level.

06:47This has been a fantastic seven games for us and to finish with 12 points,

06:53like I say, is no mean feat at the level, but you've got to keep improving.

06:58This will give the team a big belief and we've just got to keep pushing and keep looking to develop.

07:04Congratulations, Brendan.

07:06Where does this achievement rank for you over your two spells as manager?

07:12Listen, the bread and butter here is always our domestic football.

07:16And then, like I said, there's been a lot of critics around Celtic in Europe at this level.

07:23I'm just very proud for the club and the supporters,

07:28because, like I said, there's been so many moments and near-misses

07:32and some tough times at this level.

07:37But I don't think there's any doubt in the 18 months that we've been here,

07:40I think we've made progress and made some big steps and this season we've shown that.

07:46So, no, we just want to keep growing.

07:49As I said, it's a privilege to manage Celtic at this level,

07:53but I want it to be a Celtic manager at this level and be competitive.

07:57And I think we've been that.

08:00Brendan, you've not just qualified, but you've done it with that one game to spare.

08:03I mean, if you were told in the summer you wouldn't do that,

08:06did you think that was feasible, achievable, or have they surpassed what you thought they could do at this level?

08:11Well, we hoped that would be the case.

08:14I think to have 12 points after the seven games,

08:20and especially with some of the teams that we've had in a group,

08:23and then, obviously, you have the expectation to beat the other teams at home.

08:28I'm just so, so pleased for everyone.

08:31We've got the game at Aston Villa, so to be in the knockout stages already,

08:38I think it's a big achievement.

08:39So, yes, you just go into every game to do your best and hope that you can get to that point.

08:45I think we were all looking at it and thinking,

08:47yes, if we do it, work well, we could arrive before the last game.

08:52And thankfully, we've been able to do that.

08:54Just a word on Kasper Schmeichel,

08:58contract extension this morning, comes up with some really big saves tonight.

09:02How good is it having a goalkeeper like him at this level?

09:06It's so important, you know, to have a player where,

09:10and all the best players, they make the big contribution in the big games,

09:15and he's been absolutely outstanding since he's come in, both on and off the pitch.

09:20And like you say, games tonight, his authority in the game,

09:23he's one of the world's best shot-stoppers still, I will say that.

09:26He was fantastic for me at Leicester, but I know when you see him at an international level,

09:32he's such a brilliant shot-stopper.

09:33I'm so pleased for him, so pleased that he's fallen in love with the club.

09:39He's really, really enjoyed his time here, playing at a big club with big pressure.

09:45And thankfully, he's going to continue with that work.

09:48So, I'm really pleased for him.

09:52Brenton, for an American audience,

09:54could I just ask you about Cameron Carter-Vickers and Austin Trustees,

09:58their contribution tonight and over the campaign?

10:02I thought that was an Irish accent you had there.

10:04Have you gone all American?

10:06Yeah, Irish-American.

10:07Oh, is it Irish? OK.

10:10No, I thought the two boys were colossal, really.

10:12I think it's...

10:14You know you have to defend well at this level,

10:18and that's why the other day you have to give a little poke to your centre-halves,

10:22because you know what you're going to come into.

10:24And I think Austin was outstanding tonight, as was Cam.

10:28So, for the American audience, they were very, very good, Mike, very good.

10:33Apparently, the US team has...

10:37their big issue is in central defence.

10:40Could those two be an answer to that?

10:42And do you speak to Maurizio Pochettino?

10:45Is he in touch with you?

10:47No, I haven't spoken to Maurizio, but Maurizio's assistant was up with me.

10:51A few weeks ago.

10:55Not Jesus, no, Miguel.

10:57So, he came and we had a good chat.

11:01And, yes, I'm just obviously going through the guys and their qualities.

11:06But listen, if you're playing at the very highest level in European football,

11:12then those two guys can play internationally.

11:15But obviously, you've got Tim Ream there, and he's obviously the captain,

11:19and you've got some other players.

11:20But, no, they really rate the two guys very highly.

11:25So, hopefully...

11:26And you can see the two of them work very well together.

11:29Pace, power, strength, and keep clean sheets.

11:33So, yes, very good.

11:36Brendan, sorry, can I just ask before we finish up?

11:40Just a quick word on the red card at the end, Brendan.

11:42Obviously, I don't know if you've had a chance to see it back.

11:45Any quibbles with the red?

11:47And regardless of that, it's going to be a loss to lose Dejan Maida

11:51for however many games he's going to miss as a result.

11:54Yes, it's a big loss, because you see he's running, his intensity, his power, everything.

11:58So, it's a big, big loss for us.

12:00But I haven't seen it back, to be honest.

12:03They tell me he's had a wee nibble and a kick out.

12:06So, yes, we'll see it before we decide anything else.

12:11OK, thank you very much.

12:12OK, thanks, guys. Well done.

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