Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has warned supporters that the Hoops’ European pedigree won’t help his side when German side RB Leipzig come calling on Thursday night.
The team are back in UEFA Europa League action later this week, hoping to put a poor start in the competition behind them and get back to winning ways on home soil.
Defeats away to Leipzig and Salzburg have severely dented hopes of making the knockout stages of the competition but a win against the visitors this week would put us back on track.
Leipzig were in excellent form on Saturday, winning 3-0 away from home in the Bundesliga against Hertha BSC.
Rodgers, while admitting this season’s European campaign hasn’t been ideal, reckons that the expectations might be out of step with what’s achievable at this level.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, he said:
The expectations for Celtic is to really push on in European football even though it is extremely difficult. That always has to be our aim.
We’ve won our first game, lost the next two, but it’s still a great experience to be involved in. A win on Thursday keeps us alive.
We know it’s tough, but we go into the game with a confidence and it’s about imposing our way of playing.
What maybe gets overlooked is the quality of the opposition. Whatever your expectancy or history is, that doesn’t help you now. You are up against good teams and top-class players.
However dreadful we’ve been away from home in Europe, fans will expect a big performance at home, so the pressure will be on this Thursday to pick up all three points.
With our recent improvement in domestic action, can Rodgers inspire a similar turn around in continental competition? We can’t wait to find out.
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