Everything that Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers said to the media ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen  at Parkhead

We're going to start with a squad update this afternoon. How is the team looking ahead of tomorrow?

Yeah, I think all the guys have come back fit and healthy which is good. Cam has trained for the last few days so we'll just wait to see on a no reaction after today just to see if he's going to be available for tomorrow. Greg Taylor is doing really well but he won't probably come back into the squad training until after the Atlanta game. Apart from that, we're in a good place.

Is it a balancing act for Cameron to possibly be available for Tuesday night? Is that something you're weighing up?

No, just for tomorrow. I just look at that game first. I think what we're conscious of with Cam is that he had a wee bit last season where he was in and out. Even though it's a totally different injury this time it's one where we were told at that time it could have been anywhere between two and three months but we're just not wanting to push him back in too early which might then set him back. So he's doing really well. He still has discomfort there. It's not as bad as it was for the Bratislava game. We don't think he's too far away from being where he wants to be. So we're just trying to manage that and just react to each day he trains to see what the after-effects are.

On the game itself, both teams are flying high at the top. Just how much have you been excited and how much have you been impressed with what Jimmy Thelin has done up at Pittodrie?

Yeah, well firstly, we're really excited by the game. It's obviously a great game to come back to and get ourselves back into it very quickly. First versus second is always a great game especially so early on in the season I've been really impressed with Jimmy's team. I think they look to have real clarity in how they play both with the ball and against the ball. You win seven straight games in your league and you've done really, really well. So yeah, I've been really impressed watching them and we look forward to the challenge now tomorrow.

What is the challenge for you when you get that group back after international games? Some are just coming back and whatnot, how do you ensure that you pick up from where you left off almost after the Ross County result?

Well, I think what I always know is it's never going to be perfect. You've just got to get to work and it will correct itself. It's difficult for it to be perfect. Guys are away like Auston Trusty who is just back today and training for the first time. It's always a challenge. Of course when players do go away and they play in different styles and different systems and then you're trying to recalibrate it all back again when it comes back. That's the job. I don't expect it to be perfect but we'll go out there to give our very best performance and then get to the level of where we've been because I've been really impressed with our starts as well in 10 of our 11 games and not just the results. I'm talking about the identity of the team, how we've played, how creative we've been and how forceful we've been in the game. So it's really looking to continue with the performance level.

Just going back to Aberdeen. I think they are the only team in Europe who have won all their games in all competitions, is that surprising especially given that it's Jimmy Thelin's first season in charge here?

I'm not surprised. I think that he has maximised the time really, really well. He had early rounds in the competition and obviously won them through which is great and he has taken that into the league. He's got nice coaching time in, I think that's important. You come in and with Jimmy's situation you've got those weeks to prepare and get ready for your games and that's great. When I look at the team and I see them, they are well organised, want to build a game from behind when they can, they want to play through the field and they've got players at the top end of the pitch that can cause you harm. Then without the ball, they play the shape well, defending 4-4-2. So yeah, I think that they've done really, really well. So clearly Jimmy's a very good coach. There are good coaches around him as well and they've started the season on a real high.

When you were here last time, when it was quite often that Aberdeen were the closest challengers in the league and the Scottish Cup finals, it's obviously still early days but do you think that this Aberdeen team could push you again and could be right up there at the top in the coming competitions coming in this season?

I don't know. That's the honest answer. I don't know. We're still only seven games in. What I do know is that we play them tomorrow and this will be the first chance. So I'll get a close-up look to see where they're at. Then obviously we play them in a semi-final of the Cup. So yeah, the first time I was here Derek (McInnes) had done a fantastic job with Aberdeen. He made them competitive and they were always up there challenging. Aberdeen will feel themselves that they are a big club. We can't forget that. It's a big club, so the expectation is to be up there challenging and fighting with the likes of ourselves. So yeah, it's all about time. There's such a long, long way to go in the season. It's how you deal with the bumps in the road as well, which will always determine when you finish and how you end up. There's no doubt they've made a very good start.

The club made an appointment this week. How good is that for you to have that clarity? Is that also a continuation of things from over the summer?

Yeah, well Paul was in with us over the course of that period. I think I mentioned before, that I felt that from an operational and strategic perspective, we needed someone else to come in and support that side of things. So I'm absolutely delighted that he's in. Paul was a talented guy and he joined the talented people that we have here at the club and that's what we want to strive to bring in, people who can help us make a difference and people who are compatible with the philosophy and how we work. So he's also had managerial experience, which I'm pleased with as well and that was also a factor. He understands football. He understands the game. He's managed for a long time also. So he knows what it takes on the field and he obviously knows that balance between how you need to work with your board. So I'm absolutely delighted he's here and I'm sure that he'll make a really good impact for us.

That managerial experience was that important to you that he understood where you were coming from in terms of a managerial perspective?

Yeah, it's always because it's a totally different perspective. Sometimes people will never know the challenges of what a manager will go through and what a recruitment team will go through. There are many challenges here, but it's just, like I said, having someone who can come in on that operational side, and my job is to ensure we look after the core performance. Of course, manage that, but having someone like Paul there to focus purely on that is something that will benefit the club.

Just coming back to Aberdeen, what would you say are the most notable differences between this Aberdeen team and last season?

I think there's a lot of the same players that are there. I've got to say, at the end of the season when we played, I thought Peter (Leven) had done an excellent job with the team and that short spell he was in charge. I think what you're seeing is a team that has confidence now who when they come in want to build a game from behind when they can and they want to get through the thirds. They've got threats in the top end of the pitch. I think they're happy to take the time and then play through and play with calmness in the final third of the pitch. Then they've shown that they can score goals and I think once you get those wins and feel that confidence, then they arrive at Celtic Park on a high tomorrow. So I think confidence will be high when you make a good start. It helps. I think that a lot of the game model stuff, the little tweaks in there, but as I said, I refer to Peter's time when we played them in the semi-final and I thought they played very well that day and it feels like a continuation from that.

Are you expecting this to be your toughest challenge of the domestic season so far?

No, I think it's the next challenge. I think every challenge for us is one that we respect and take on board. So I think when it's a top two, I can feel it but every game is a challenge for us in a different way.

On Paul Tidsdale having a broad remit I think he described himself before as a football doctor but what do you see as the key part of that?

He's a bit clever, he must have loved that one. He won't live that down, will he? He probably said that one in his first week as a manager, so you just hung on to that. He's a good guy. I didn't know Paul that well but I knew of his work and I knew about his longevity in the work he'd done at Exeter and so on. I spent a good period of time with him here and over the course of the summer, we had long meetings. I think when you bring in someone in that role, in that remit there's a specificness to it in terms of recruitment and analytics and whatnot, but it has to be compatible with my personality, with the philosophy of the club and how we want to work and the team, and it fits it really well over the course of the summer. So I was very keen for us to progress that in order to support the strategy and, as I said, the operation and how we function. I always look to improve and I think it's a really good appointment for us.

You mentioned analytics, Hearts appointed Neil Critchley this week and a lot of it was aided and assisted by analytics. Does that become an important part of the game?

Well, it is. I think it just depends on what your take on it is. For me, it's very much kind of informed by data, but I wouldn't be driven by it. You know, we can get lots of information, lots of data on certain things now and Paul said it was purely more on the actual performance of a player that will fit into our model and whether that player fits closely and he can bring the football analytical stuff to that, as well as overseeing that recruitment process. It's definitely a big part of football now but it's how you use it, which is important.

The fact you worked together in the summer is that giving you a head start for January? Are you almost ahead of the game?

Yeah, I think we know where we're at, in terms of what it is we want to do. We did a lot of great work in the summer and improving the squad and the preparation is well underway to see what we can do for January to improve.

Were you amused or bemused by the reaction to the picture of you chatting to Kieran and wondering at the gallery dinner? It sent tongues wagging it is fair to say.

No, it was great to see him. I've always been in contact with Kieran since we were both down there and it was very nice to see him. He was out injured, so it was a nice touch by the club to invite him. He was a great player for this club and it was unfortunate how this went for him at Arsenal with his injury. It doesn't take much now to get tongues wagging.

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There were also a couple of sanctions this week in terms of the behaviour of the fans. You have great support in the Champions League games but would you hope that maybe that's a signal for that to calm down a bit?

Well, I really hope so. We probably don't need the pyrotechnics for great support. You know, the support that we get home and away in games is absolutely incredible, and we can't let that type of behaviour dictate whether fans can maybe be in the position of not attending the game, because that's not fair, it's not right. People who have followed certain home and away for years and years and years should never be banned. The support is incredible and like I said, it's not something that we need. We're not a club that needs that to ignite our support base. What we bring to a stadium in colour and noise is absolutely amazing. I hope this is the end of it. It just wouldn't be right for any of our support to miss a game. Like I said, whenever it is, it's just we can't afford for that to happen, and if it does, then it's totally on a minority of our support. It's as simple as that. Our support is incredible. It travels, and what it gives us, ( the players that come to hear because of our support, so we just need to make sure we draw a line on that and just come with the banners and with the noise in the corner and that will give us a great chance on the field.

Do people need to understand that it is the players who will be damaged in all of this if there is no support?

I think it's players and support. Like I said, if you're a supporter who has travelled worldwide, following Celtic and then you can't go because you're banned for a game, that's not right. It's absolutely not right, especially in that way. Likewise, the players on the field and the fans make such a monumental difference to us and that's what this club has been about. The support is driving the team right to the very end in games and giving us that fantastic support and it certainly wouldn't make it easier for us being away from home without our own people there. I think that's all because it's nothing to do with football and if you do keep doing it you're showing that you don't really care. You don't care for the team, you don't care for the support, and you don't care for your club because the club ultimately will get fined as well. So if you keep doing it, you're clearly showing that you're actually not really worried about your own club. You know, you're worried about yourself, so it doesn't need it. If you need to do it then do it outside the stadium, but don't do it inside where you cause a risk to other people, other supporters, risk yourself not being there, and obviously the team ultimately.

It's a safety risk, isn't it? You can go away and see those young fans and families and all that sort of stuff. These things are kind of dangerous, not the banning fans, but you can injure them.

Yes, it's not what it's about, I think. I always see when I see that, and I see the flares, and I see everything lit up, I'm always worried about the people behind. What's happening with them? If you have a young child at a game and the smoke and everything that comes off that? I'm not sure it's a great, enjoyable experience.

What about Tony Ralston's performance for Scotland in midweek?

He was brilliant. I'm so happy for him. He's such a great professional. I think, you know, I think it's a testament to how professional he is whether it's for Scotland, whether it's Celtic, every time he's called upon he can come in and play 90 minutes and give his all.

Yeah, I thought in the second game particularly he was excellent and defended really well He got forward when he could. He was unlucky with the cross he played in. So, yeah, he's such a brilliant player for us to have. He's such an important member of our squad when he's called upon to play. He plays, he comes in, and you never think he's been away. To not play as often as he does, but go in and play 90 minutes, especially at that level, tells you everything about how professional he is and how committed he is to his football life. So, yeah, I was delighted for him and how he performed.

What did you make of Cristiano Ronaldo at the end, he didn't like it at all. Tony made sure he didn't get a goal, he didn't like that one, did he?

No, no, he wasn't happy, was he? It was a good performance from Scotland. You were just hoping that they weren't going to concede at the end because they've been unfortunate a few times. Craig (Gordon) makes a great save. They make good blocks and, yeah, they've got a good point in the end.