Why Celtic manager Rodgers is not a 'dreamer' in Europe

How has everyone been mood-wise after midweek?

Clearly, there was disappointment in the aftermath of it. It’s always emotionally challenging and difficult. You can’t dwell on it, you’ve got to look at it and analyse it, but very quickly you have to move on. That’s the nature of professional sports. You have that day to grieve, which is never nice, but always think that setbacks like that are a great opportunity to grow and bounce back - even to a higher level than you were when you started the game. We’re back on it, working well today, then we get ready for the game at the weekend.

On days like that, did different characters need different things, in terms of more of an arm round the shoulder? Is it easy for all of them to bounce back in the same way?

That’s the job of the manager and the leaders within the team. We got back at half 4, and then we gave them a free day, which gave them a lot of thinking time. After the game, I was really disappointed for firstly the supporters, as the noise two hours before the game in the stadium was amazing. With the journey they had been on, we were disappointed that we couldn’t give them more. I feel for the players because over these last seven months, the path we’ve been on and continue to be on of improvement and being an exciting team to play. Things went against us in the game and before we know it, we’ve conceded five goals in the first half, so it becomes a challenge in the second half. Setbacks are there to grow from, you can dwell on it and become bitter with it but it’s not something that I like to do. This is when you lead, and we saw it last year in moments where we had to be resilient. When it’s tough, you have to lead in those moments. That’s our job, we made a brilliant start to our season, but it was a tough one. I’m experienced enough to know that when the stakes are high you have to sometimes expect defeat when playing high-level competition. If you don’t, you’re a dreamer, and if you dream in management then you won’t be here long. Its great to dream and for critics to look and think what the score is going to be and what it might be, but as a manager and coach when you’re in the professional game, at times against the Champions League finalists you might expect that you might lose. We’ll learn from that and we’ll be better for it.

What are the main points that Celtic could have done better at? Now that the emotion and dust have settled.

In terms of our pressing, I thought that we went on our own a little bit. The early goal spooked us a little bit, so they then showed the lack of experience in the team. Top players will find that space when you’re out of position. There’s always a little bit of work for us to do on that front, just pressing at the wrong moment and at the wrong time. With the ball, we could have been better. We were too rushed in our play at times, which gave those players the possibilities. I will retain that if you look at the first half and the second half, we conceded two penalties which is soft. Then we concede three goals - two of which are brilliant strikes - and one takes a deflection. Fantastic strikes from a top-level young player. Before you know it, it was maybe 3-1 going in at half-time, then you can regroup and go in at half-time, but then the next two quick-fire goals just before half-time put you to 5-1. Psychologically, it’s a very difficult place to be when you’re playing a high-level opponent, but that’s where I commend the players. In the second half, they played with courage and passion by keeping on fighting. They showed the spirit and resilience. Yes, the result wasn’t anywhere near what we wanted, but we will learn from it. We will be judged in January to see where we finish. The aftermath is that: we were naturally disappointed, but we will pick ourselves up and show that resilience again.

How do you respond to people saying there should be a huge overhaul to the approach with this level of opposition?

I don’t feel anything. I’m not really bothered, that’s my honest answer. You can’t turn a tap on and off. I think if you analyse the game, you’ll see that we were trying to press the game in the static position and fall back into shape. That wasn’t to the level that we wanted on the evening. We play how we play, it’s the same plaudits that are commending our performances over the last number of months that allow us to get into this game with this incredible optimism that we can get a result. You can’t just turn the tap back off and say to play super defensive. It’s just not how we play. So what do we do, sit back and have 15 per cent of the ball and lose 3-0? 4-0? We’ve seen teams over six months that come to us and sit back and play five at the back of 5-4-1 with no chance to attack. Or, do you play how you play, but know that the mistakes you’ve got to sharpen your teeth in and you’ve got to be brighter and make quicker movements to close space? All these things are part of the learning process. I’d much rather do that and go down with my own vision than listen to someone saying that who has never coached a game in their life or played, or whatever. I respect the opinion, but I don’t listen to it and never have.

If you manage to eradicate those mistakes and get those tweaks right, then can you be competitive at that level?

That’s the challenge. Like I said, I’m not a dreamer. We want to be competitive and I think we showed in our first game that if we’re at that level and do everything right then we have an opportunity. There’s going to be games that are a challenge for us, but we’ll do our best to get the results that we want. We’ll be judged at the end of January and we’ll see where the points total takes us, but I have a real belief in the group, and how they’ve been working. It was a sore one the other night, but like I said there’s lots of critique around it and how you play. That’s never bothered me, we have a way of working, that same way that excites supporters and has got them really excited. We’ll continue on that path, but you know and I know that we’ll bounce back to an even stronger position than we were before the game. Why? Because we’ll learn from it.

It was a difficult night for all of the players, but Auston Trusty being a centre-back, he’s going to feel it as well. How do you lift his spirits?

I think it’s a reassurance with all of the players. I’m quite open with it, it’s not something we hide behind and pretend that it never happened. We speak about it and talk through it. The job of course is to stay calm and keep your poise and talk the boys through how you can trampoline yourself beyond the start point of where you were. It’s learning and growth, and it’s horrible at the time. When you’re in that environment and you’re a player, then that’s the challenge, but this group has real resilience. We can lose games, but we’ll have a great resilience. That’s a mark of this team, we showed it last season and we will show it again this season. We will just stay on the path that we are on. We believe in how we work and play, and we learn from games like the other night against top opposition.

That’s evidenced by coming back after having difficult results, especially domestically.

You have to have that for me. Like I said, you can dwell on it and blame everything - it doesn’t really work for me. I owned that the other night, and I’ve had a number of these in my time here. I’ve won against big opponents in big games. I beat Chelsea in the FA Cup, and then they went and won the Champions League a couple of weeks later! I’ve worked in big games and won big games. That’s why I have that confidence that when you lose a game of that magnitude, then it is tough - especially for those who are experiencing it for the first time. Setbacks are part of the journey, but they’re also a part of the ambition of where you want to get to. Because if you think you can just get there plain sailing, then there’s no chance. It doesn’t happen. If we were going to qualify after eight games, there was always going to be some tough moments along the way. We had a brilliant one vs Bratislava, a tough one in this one. Three points in six, I think we would have all taken that. We’ll move on from the game, and hopefully, there’s great learning from it.

You've won Champions League games at home since you've come back, do you think you need results away to qualify?  Is that something that you will have to achieve to achieve your ultimate ambition?

I don't think you have to. But we would want to. We would want to have results away from home. I'm very conscious that supporters are getting out of work and travelling thousands of miles, in every which way that they can, to get there to support the team. There's an incredible support that we have. So, I'm not just going to dismiss and say that we don't need it. We actually want to get the results for the team and for the support base that is travelling and making all this commitment to go see their team. We want them to be proud of their team.  But in the actual just pure numbers of it, if you win your home games then the likelihood is that you would qualify without having to win away. We go into every game with a positive expectation to do well - whether that is at home to Bratislava or away at Borussia Dortmund. Like I said, when the competition is fierce, sometimes things might not always go your way. So, you have to accept that. Of course, winning away from home and getting results everyone wants to do that.

Does the fact a few of the guys that were playing on Tuesday night are just in the door and finding their feet? Does that give you hope and optimism that the team can evolve at this level and improve? 

Those guys coming in, it will be their first taste of Champions League football, and I think the whole team will constantly evolve and get better. I've said it before, even before the Dortmund game, I believe that this group of players will improve and get better. So, from what I see every day in training, I see how we started the season, there's still areas I think that we can be better in even though we have been consistently at a good level. But that's our work, it's not just about the results. I'm a coach that even when I'm winning lots of games and trophies, my ultimate aim is to develop the individual player, because if the individual player is developing then the team will be better. I never see it the other way about. If the individual is improving, the team will get better, and then we can pull it all together as a collective. That's the constant job of the coach and the manager to make improvements to your players every day, and consequentially the team will improve.  

Something I've found in your coaching career is when you have an identity then you don't deviate from that during these setbacks. Does that help the team bounce back and improve in that way?

I think it's having a commitment to it, but I'm not daft. I hear words like pragmatism and all this sort of stuff, and whatever else gets thrown at teams that want to play. We don't play that way to lose. We play to win, and we know that there are certain games and certain opponents where you have to adjust. But I've never been a coach in the main that will sit back and want to defend, defend, and defend then lose 3-0. I would rather impose a way of working to win the game. But also knowing, like I said before the game, that the quality of a team no matter what your philosophy is, a team will push you back. I think our game the other night was a classic example of that. You have your idea, you want to sit in, at times become compact in that mid-section of the pitch but Emre Can or Julian Brandt, they have that quality, it's a big level. There was one moment in the first half where the ball got played up to the striker and he just played a one touch off the side. Then all of a sudden if your winger is not quite in his close of the pitch, then he plays one pass around the corner and they're into the final third. Eight, nine out of ten strikers when that ball comes in you are actually getting a chance to win that because his first touch might take him back the way he comes, you double press the game, you have the ball, and you are away. But that's a level, and if people don't recognise it or see the levels that are different then it's not a problem of mine. I know what we face, I know who we play, and we have to do our very best.

How crucial will goal difference be in this new Champions League format?

Time will tell. I really enjoyed the first game but the second wasn't so good! It'll be tight all the way along, but if you win the games to get the points then hopefully, you will qualify. This gives you the opportunity to do that. Games like Borussia Dortmund won't define where we're at in January, with the greatest respect.

Is there any frustration that you don't get to have them (Dortmund) back here?

Yeah, that's the other side of it. Speaking to Nuri (Sahin) after the game, that was something that they would've actually preferred, if the game was at Celtic Park. As would I. It wasn't to be. The big stadiums and iconic crowds, when they want something, like when Celtic Park wants something, it brings you a lot closer to getting it because of the atmosphere. That was the only downside but we can't have everything. 

How's the squad for this weekend?

Cam (Carter-Vickers) is still not available and Greg Taylor will miss the game. He's felt a slight problem in his calf, so he'll miss out. 

Do you have a timescale for either?

Well, we're hoping that Cam will be available after the international break and Greg probably won't be too far after that.

How is Alistair Johnston?

Ali is fine, yeah. He came off with a stiff back. He's trained this morning, he's okay.

Any other concerns with Cam?

No, I saw him today and he was working. It was just time with him really. We think he'll be there hopefully, after the break.

What are you expecting from Ross County?

We've seen them play in the sort of 3-5-2 structure from the build-up, they'll go direct up to the strikers. Young Ronan Hale has done well coming in from Cliftonville, scoring three goals in seven games. He'll have an enthusiasm to play against Celtic I'm sure. They're always tough games on a tight pitch. We'll have a great support there and we aim to get back on track with a high performance level.