Rodgers said that his side won’t leave any room for error and will treat the part-time side like they are in the same echelon as Spanish giants Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Advertisement
On the draw with Maribor, Rodgers added: “Maribor, for five of the last six years have been Slovenian champions so it was really good exercise for us and the players coped and adapted really well in what were very hot conditions and the preparation for the game on Tuesday was flawless”.
Irishman McElwee, who masterminded ten Gibraltan league titles at the Imps as manager before stepping back two years ago, is a big Hoops fan and is thrilled the Scottish champions managed to lure the former Liverpool boss to Glasgow. We are determined and are focused on the play-off games because we know what it means to us, the fans and Celtic as a whole to qualify this time.
“We are going into this game with a good mentality because you can’t come in slack and treat it as a pre-season friendly”. I also got a bottle of vodka – which I’ve not drunk yet! “They will be comfortable but we’ll deal with it”. We are doing everything in terms of preparation to make sure there’s no stone unturned and we’re ready for the game.
“They have qualified for the Champions League recently and ran Chelsea very close here”. On pitches like that, it suits your technical players. “I’ve come back, I feel fit, I played in three games in Slovenia, the first games for three months, and I feel good and ready for 90 minutes”.
“Every gaffer has his own philosophy, his own style and his own ideas about how he wants the team to play”. It will be hard here when you take into consideration things like the heat but it’s important to be in the next round.
“With this club’s history, the Champions League is where we want to be – just like every other champion”. But you have to earn it’.
After all, the Red Imps recovered from a 2-1 first leg road defeat against Flora Tallin of Estonia in their first round qualifier in order to advance to face Celtic courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate triumph and Julio César Ribas’ team have now won nine and lost just one of their last 10 matches in all formats.
Tickets for the match sold out nearly immediately while captain Roy Chipolina – without pretending that he and his boys are at a disadvantage – is eager to stress their delight. And Celtic is home for me. It has given me my daily bread, so how could I not love it?
Advertisement
“It’s tough to combine a full-time job and being a part-time footballer”. It was a dream for me.
