BRENDAN Rodgers has started preparing for Celtic's bid to reach the group stages of the Champions League – by analysing every goal the Parkhead club have scored and conceded in the past season.
Rodgers, who was appointed Celtic manager last Friday, has wasted no time getting to work and has already watched video footage of all the matches played by Ronny Deila’s team in the 2015/16 campaign.
The Scottish champions lost 4-3 on aggregate to Swedish rivals Malmo in the Champions League play-off this season after having been 2-0 and then 3-1 in front during the first leg at Celtic Park.
Read more: So what does Brendan Rodgers have to do in his first few weeks at Celtic?
It was the second occasion that Deila was unable to secure a lucrative place in Europe’s premier club competition and his successor will, despite having little time to prepare for the second qualifying round in July, be under pressure to deliver on that front.
However, the 43-year-old, who managed Liverpool in both the Champions League and Europa League during his four years in charge at Anfield, is comfortable with the expectations on him and optimistic his own ambitions to do well on the continent can be realised after assessing the squad he has inherited.
“This is a club that expects to win titles and be competitive in Europe,” said Rodgers. “The measure will be on both and that’s what I’m driven to achieve.
“They fell short last year on a couple of set-pieces. That’s what stopped them going through. I’ll need to assess things and I’ll need to look. But there are some good players here and some young talents.
“I’ve looked at every single goal Celtic have scored and conceded since I was appointed. I know where there are areas we can improve on and gain. That’s important for us. I probably started doing that a wee bit before I was appointed. I had the idea I was coming.
“I can look and identify all I want from a distance. You always have an idea of how to change things and there are one or two players I’ll want to bring in, but I want to look and speak to the players who are here. Hopefully then the ideas will be empowered by them.”
Clinching a spot alongside the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain in the group stages of the Champions League will take Celtic to some famous European stadiums to meet some of the game’s biggest names.
That, though, will not be the case in the Ladbrokes Premiership, where Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kilmarnock and Ross County will be among their rivals, not to mention in the Betfred League Cup and the William Hill Scottish Cup.
But Rodgers, who grew accustomed to his sides playing in front of huge crowds during his tenures at both Swansea City and Liverpool, stressed he had no concerns about the size or quality of the opposition he would face in this country.
“I’ve thought of the Emirates on a Wednesday night – or going to Inverness!” he said. “But it’s football. I’m from a council estate in Northern Ireland so I’m not a snob about football.
“Football is football – you represent the team and you go anywhere with them whether it’s up the road or in Europe. I’m looking forward to this job. It’s different. I’ve had five years in the Premier League and that’s great.
Read more: Former Celt Charlie Gallagher on the Road to Lisbon - and punching Billy McNeill
“I’m 43 and if I’ve to have another 20 years of management in me then I was never always going to be in the Premier League and would never want that. I’m here now at a club I love and a team I want to do well with and also one that I have an affinity with and that’s what excites me.”
“There’s no doubt you gain through experience. There’s no way that I know everything – I’ll be getting better and better. My mindset is to grow and to learn and if you can do that then you become better and I hope that’s the case here.”
The appointment of a high-profile figure like Rodgers as manager has been greeted with excitement by the Celtic support and a crowd of around 10,000 turned up at Parkhead on Monday night to welcome him to the club.
The Irishman, who is a lifelong supporter of the Glasgow outfit, knows that with Rangers set to play in the top flight next season, his side will have to dominate domestically and do well in Europe to retain their backing.
“When I am 70 years of age and I go into a shop to get a loaf of bread I will not be given it on loyalty,” he said. “I have got to earn the money to buy it.”
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