BRENDAN Rodgers, the Celtic manager, last night admitted he is hoping to strengthen his squad before the European signing deadline at midnight tonight ahead of a Champions League meeting with Astana in Kazakhstan next week.
Rodgers watched his team defeat Lincoln Red Imps, the semi-professional club from Gibraltar, 3-0 in front of a crowd of over 50,000 at Parkhead last night.
The Scottish champions had been trailing 1-0 going into the second leg of the second qualifying round against their part-time opponents
However, three goals in seven minutes in the first half from Mikael Lustig, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts secured a comfortable 3-1 aggregate win.
The result means Celtic will now face Astana, who yesterday defeated FK Zalgiris of Lithuania, in the first leg of the third qualifying round away in Kazakhstan next week.
Rodgers, who has been linked with Scott Sinclair of Aston Villa, Shane Duffy of Blackburn Rovers and Jerry St. Juste of Heerenveen, is keen to make more signings before the tie.
Asked if he hoped to make more signings before the deadline, the former Liverpool manager said: "Hopefully. That's what I'm looking at. There is no doubt we need one or two more in that I want to bring into the team.
"Hopefully we can do that before that closes before tomorrow. It would be good to get players in before the game in Kazakhstan. That would be a huge boost to the squad."
Rodgers added: "I am pleased to qualify. That was the objective coming into tonight. I thought the crowd were incredible. To get a full house in a game like tonight was amazing.
"It certainly wasn't perfect. But we are only four weeks into the season. I would expect us to be. The cohesion within the team will get better as will the fitness. I am delighted with the attitude of the players. We are through and that is the main thing.
"We played them in the first leg and it was very apparent they had five behind the ball, four in midfield and one striker. So we tried to get on as many offensive players as we could."
Rodgers singled out Kieran Tierney, the teenage left back who played despite being unwell, for special praise after taking charge of his first competitive match at home.
"Kieran played as a left-sided centre half in a three," he said. "That shows his tactical flexibility. He played with tonsillitis tonight., That is why we had to take4 him off. He is a real warrior for the team."
Rodgers admitted the long trip to Kazakhstan, where Celtic lost 2-0 to Shakhtar Karagandy in a Champions League play-off game in 2013, would present problems for his side.
Astana are likely to be even more formidable opponents than Karagandy, who were eventually beaten 3-2 on aggregate, as they took points off Galatasary, Benfica and eventual finalists Atletico Madrid in the group stages of the Champions League.
"Apart from the six hour flight, five hour time difference, the 35 degree heat, the plastic pitch and no water, we should be alright," he said.
"But, listen, it is just what has been thrown at us. We just need to adjust and we have ways to do that. We will look to fly out on Monday, the game is on the Wednesday and we will look to prepare ourselves as best we possibly can.
"There will be trying conditions, but we have to fine a way to get a performance and a result."
"We have got a game on Saturday (against English champions Leicester City). We will be back in tomorrow. A lot of players have played there first 90 minutes
"It is another difficult tie for us on a plastic pitch, but we will be ready for it. It is just a case of being prepared. Saturday is a good game for players to come in for."
Meanwhile, Rodgers admitted he had been impressed with the rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone - the anthem which is also a favourite with Liverpool supporters - which the Celtic fans had belted out before kick-off.
"Tonight was really special," he said. "I said when I first came here that I wanted to get the stands full and I couldn't have hoped for any better than I got tonight. I grew up seeing it and from the outside looking in.
"I'm very fortunate that I'm now a supporter stood on the sidelines managing the team. To stand in pole position and witness it was very special. I want to say a big thank you to the crowd for the support which they gave the team. They were a huge help to us in an important game which I was pleased we won comfortably in the end. The scoreline could have been greater."
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