{"id":9982,"date":"2016-09-28T08:59:47","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T07:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=9982"},"modified":"2016-09-28T08:59:47","modified_gmt":"2016-09-28T07:59:47","slug":"celtic-diary-wednesday-september-28-believe-in-yourself-and-your-comrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=9982","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Wednesday September 28: Believe In Yourself, and Your Comrades"},"content":{"rendered":"

Champions League action- proper Champions League, that is-returns to Celtic Park tonight after a lemgthy absence.<\/p>\n

Manchester city, a side Celtic have never faced before in a competitive game, are the visitors, and surprisingly, there’s very little talk of it being a “Battle of Britain “, probably due to the lack of English players who feature for the English club. Though strictly speaking, its only an English club because of where its based. Anything else these days is purely coincidental.<\/p>\n

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, who told the Celtic Underground podcast he would be at Celtic for as long as the fans want him, hasn’t named all of his team yet, but he has pointed out what the fans already knew, when he said that Craig Gordon would start the game, in place of the hapless Dorus De Vries. The knock on effect is that Pep Guardiola, his opposite number at the Etihad, will have to rethink his tactical approach, which had been to simply hit the ball at the goalie.<\/p>\n

Rodgers not only said he’d play Gordon, but also admitted he’d made a mistake in dropping him so soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cCraig has done well for the club since he came in here and I\u2019m sure he\u2019s looking forward to it.”\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty of it is that Craig wants to improve and I believe he has done. He\u2019s a great fellow.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCraig and I had a really good chat when I was going to make the change. I maybe made that change too early. Dorus was injured and he\u2019d come back and maybe I pushed him in too early, to try to impose that way we want to work.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo I take that responsibility.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut the bottom line is that we have to win games and Craig and I looked at areas we think he can improve on.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe has gone away with our goalkeeping coach, Stevie Woods, and when he has come into training, he has been absolutely brilliant, taking it all on board.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has given him a determination and, when you\u2019re fighting for your place, it allows you to perform better and focus.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe has been first class.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We can stop biting our fingernails now, at least until kick off. As long as Gordon plays to the best of his abilities, we have a shot at making this a memorable night.<\/p>\n

However, just as he had done before the Bartcelona game, rodgers then went all starry eyed when he spoke of Manchester City’s forwards..some people never learn…<\/p>\n

\u201cAguero and Silva are world class.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI always say that when you have a world class player they are hard to tie down because they will always find that bit of space.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience of managing against Manchester City \u2013 and my teams have always done fairly well, particularly at home \u2013 shows that when you face these guys the world class players always find the gaps on the pitch.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you have to try and do is negate that as much as you can and negate their influence as much as possible.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRaheem is back on track to be one of the world\u2019s top players.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are slightly different. The front three at Barcelona have been together a while and understand the movement patterns.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cManchester City are in the process of working towards that. Where they have been devastating is on the counter-attack. The speed they can break at is phenomenal.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cRaheem\u2019s positioning has been great. Silva, if he plays in the central role, is a different threat and Aguero is Aguero.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe can spin in behind in the box. They are all good players.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And they’re very good friends.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

The manager then went on to talk positive about his own club, which probably upset a few listening hacks.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe know it is going to be a difficult night but we hope it is going to be a difficult night for them too.<\/p>\n

\u201cCeltic Park is traditionally a very hard place to come and play.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have 60,000 supporters here backing us and one thing for sure is we won\u2019t be as passive as we were in the last game.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the time I\u2019ve been here, we\u2019ve been aggressive with and without the ball.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe only times we haven\u2019t was in Barcelona \u2013 which was understandable for some of the players as much better teams than us have struggled there \u2013 and in the first half at Inverness.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOur game is based around aggression, the intensity with which we play.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know City are one of the leading teams in Europe but somehow you have to try and find a way.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to win. It\u2019s not just about performing and learning but to be here and to put a fight on, to get a result \u2013 that\u2019s what it\u2019s about.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the passion of the crowd and the passion of the team and our players getting the<\/em>
\nopportunity to play against a top side. That will help us.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes this different is that it\u2019s at home. It\u2019s a different noise that comes out of here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been 24 games here at that level, of which Celtic have won 16 and lost only three.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible record which shows you the power of the stadium and what it gives to the team on the park.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n