Why Rodgers wants Celtic critics to 'learn their lesson'

Brendan, did everyone come through unscathed from the other night?
 
Yeah, fitness-wise we're in a really good place, so all fit and ready for tomorrow.
 
How do you look back on Brugge now, with a bit of time maybe to analyse it further?
 
Yeah, really pleased. Of course, you want to win every game, of course, you do, but we mustn't fall into the trap that we just expect, because we're playing against a really good side, a top-two team, they've got more experience, recent history in the Champions League than ourselves. That's the game I felt that I've been in before, that we've lost. My first time here, we played a couple of games similar to that. I mentioned Gladbach and Anderlecht at home, and the game got away from us. But I feel that this group is making great steps to really be competitive at the level, and to do that against a really good side, who in the game before beat Aston Villa 1-0, which tells you they're a really good team, and for us to come back into the game and finish the game really strong. So yeah, as I said, we mustn't fall into that trap of expectation, of just thinking that we have points and play well against other teams, and a team like Club Brugge comes and because maybe not so many people know so much about them, you think you just roll them up. This level doesn't work like that. So for my players, I was very pleased, and especially with the response in the second half. So yeah, another step to where we want to go.
 
Any particular job to pick Cameron (Carter-Vickers) up in the days that follow, or is he the type that just gets over any mistakes quite quickly?
 
Yeah, it's just reinforcement. It's not so much him himself, it's just one of those things. I said to Nicolas Kuhn, as long as he doesn't claim the assist, because he seems to be getting assists left, right and centre these days! But no, it's just one of those things. We needed to get into shape earlier, that was the correction that we make on it. He's been a real colossal player for this club and will continue to be. His response in the game was actually very, very good. So just one of those things that happens in the game, but his response and the team's response was very good.
 
We spoke to Adam Idah, who said it can be a challenge, whether it's emotionally, or psychologically, going from those big Champions League nights and then focusing on the bread and butter, if you like, in the Premiership. What do you do as a manager to maintain that? Is it the consistency of messaging? How do you prepare for this transition?
 
Yeah, I think what hopefully you'll see over the course of this season is that we've played five games in the Champions League, and we've gone from Champions League to domestic. It's exactly that. I think every game as a Celtic player, and I think as long as Adam is here, he will recognise that himself also - that every game is a big game. You can't just turn it on and off. The Ross Countys, the Hearts, all these games, these are the games that get you there. So for us, it's a good point for us the other night. We prepare now, we recover and then we look to bring a big energy into the game tomorrow. So it's always a challenge, but these are the challenges that you have to meet to be a top player at this club.
 
Alistair Johnson has been long-listed for the FIFA Men's Best XI among 22 defenders. Just how great is that recognition for him?
 
Well, I didn't know that, but it's absolutely brilliant for him. Again, it recognises the consistency that he's played internationally and clearly domestically and shows him how he's rising as a football player.
 
Do you feel he's developed this season in terms of an attacking sense? Has he maybe added that to his game a bit more this season? Do you see his stats in terms of goals and assists are bigger than they have been in his previous seasons?
 
I just think you evolve and develop with time and patience. I think the encouragement of him going more forward than coming inside, we have a full-back that does that. But sometimes the game you play doesn't need both coming in. Sometimes they need to be in the half-space, so it just depends. But either way, we want to attack, we want to score goals. I think if you look at our records, we score goals, we create many opportunities. For me, I've always liked the teams for the goals to go around the team. Whether it's wingers, strikers, midfield, press, full-backs, or centre-halves, it's a collective responsibility. For me this year, he scored early on and he's got that love and feel that you get when you hit the back of the net. He looks a threat in the games.
 
If you look at some of the names he's been amongst, some of the top defenders in the world, it must be great for the club to have someone racked amongst them in that selection?
 
Yes, I think for him himself, it shows you how consistent he's been and how good he has been. I haven't seen the list, but I can only imagine if it's of the world's best, then clearly it's a great honour for him to be recognised in that list.

Brendan, I wanted to go on about the January transfer window…
 
We won't speak about it until then! (!)
 
You've got further possibilities in Europe and whatnot to come. How busy do you expect that month to be, considering how busy you were in the summer?
 
Like everything, we would like to improve if we can. Firstly, I'm seeing the improvement of this group of players and this team here, so we brought a number of players in. But of course, every window where you can, if you can improve and the right players are available, then we would certainly look at it. But there's a lot of time for that.
 
Can I just ask you about Arne Engels as well? There's a debate about his recent performances and whatnot. When he comes with a price tag, fans may expect a bit more, but you also have to look at the age of the player. 21, still kind of raw. Should fans be a bit more patient to see the growth that Arne will bring?
 
Yeah, I know in life it is a challenge now for anyone, but I think the most recent example of that would be Paulo Bernardo. He was exactly the same, if I remember back. Highlighting Paulo in his performances this time last year, and now he can't be cheered on loud enough when he enters onto the pitch. That's called development. It's called patience. It's called time. Arne is a fantastic young player, otherwise we wouldn't have brought him here. He doesn't set the price. He's come here to a big club to improve his game. I've got absolutely no doubt he will do that. But hopefully, I know it won't be the case, but I would hope that people will learn their lesson. Seeing people that were writing off Paulo and Nicolas Kuhn, it'll be Arne Engels, it'll be someone else. You have to look and see and understand that development takes time. Some will hit the ground running and be fine and adapt perfectly, but not everyone is like that, especially a young player. I've been really pleased since he's come in, because I know the future for him. He will improve, he will develop and get better. We've seen it so many times.
 
On that kind of topic, we were talking to Adam Idah, who was saying he wasn't that happy with how he's personally playing, but then he looked at the stats, he's got a goal every 70 minutes, and he had to remind himself that that's a good start. Does that almost feed into the players, that the expectations are so high that they have to keep their own balance between keeping their expectations high and pushing themselves as well as not being too hard on themselves?
 
Yes, it's very important. Like I've said before, it's a trap really. I think probably because there's a lot more information out there now, there's a lot more comment on players through whatever social media and all the various channels of information and knowledge that they can pick up. I think then that can feed into it, but that's my job to control that. Adam, between January and the end of the season, he was really at the top of his game. He knows that and we know that. So I don't worry about Adam, I know what he can do, and every supporter should know what he does when you've seen what he brought to us. He came back really late in pre-season, so he wasn't up to speed physically and that has probably held him back a little bit, but I can now start to see him growing and getting better. He's played really well for us in certain games. The Atalanta performance was a big performance by him. He doesn't score, but it's not always about scoring. As a striker, you bring other people into the game. So I've got no worries about Adam Idah. He was a player we really wanted to bring here. We've seen the contribution that he made. We see the potential that he has. Likewise, a player who's still developing and learning, but he's still capable of coming in and affecting the team. Yes, I think it's always the pressure when you come to play up here. I think the scrutiny is on you. You're going to have your critics. Sometimes it's deserved, sometimes it's not. But either way, a lot of the time you don't have the last word, but you do have your chance on the pitch to show what you can do. So I've got no doubt. But like every player, whether they're young or old, you're not immune to it. You know what's been said. But as I said, he only really needs to worry about his teammates and ourselves and his development and coaching. And as I said, he's such a young player with a lot of potential. And that's why we brought him here. He's not the finished article.
 
Also last week, there was a list of squad valuations for the top 24 in the Champions League. Celtic were, I think, the lowest. Within that, does that kind of highlight the challenge that you're facing and how well the team are doing?
 
Are we talking budgets, are we? Are we talking budgets? Because it normally comes the other way… Yeah, I think if you've got some logic in the game, some common sense in the game, you'd see that. As I said, a team like Club Brugge the other night, but we can never get above our station and think that because we're a massive club, an iconic club, that these other clubs aren't very good and have been at the level longer than us. And like you said, probably on that list, then we'd be at the bottom. But, again, it really shows you how well the players are doing. And also when we have that indivisible unity of the support and everyone together, then we're a real competitive force at this level. And that's where we want to be and that's what we're trying to build. So, yeah, it's a great level to be in, but it's always a big challenge for us.
 
Brendan, Paul Tisdale's been in post for about six or seven weeks now. Can you tell us about how that's working and how you hope that will be at the club going forward?
 
Yeah, I think it'll be a big benefit for us. Paul came in here during the summer to help. I obviously control a lot of the core performance of the team, the B team and everything else that goes around that, media, everything else. But there's a side that runs beside that, which is, for me, the strategic operation of the club. And I felt there was a gap there in that. So I wanted to bring someone in just to see how that would go. Paul, not only has he managed before, which gives me comfort, he knows what it's like to be in the shoes of a manager, but he also understands the business side. So I felt that having someone in to help support that organisation and a lot of the logistics that go on at that level, from recruitment to academy to admin, for me, a modern club needs that. And if you're going to progress, you need that operation. Because if I'm out on the pitch and doing all the stuff there, it still needs to go on down here. Clearly, the business side of the club has run immaculately. You only need to look at Celtic over many, many years. But from a strategy perspective, that was Paul's role. So he links in very closely with Michael and myself, along with Dermot, in terms of the strategy. And we obviously converse a lot, we speak a lot, and he will bring his strength to that role.
 
How busy has he been in the recruitment team?
 
Been quite busy, yeah. Very clever up here, you know. It's always ongoing, isn't it? Even if we're not just looking for January, it's beyond. We get meetings this afternoon around our young players and looking at that strategy. So it's ongoing. I always say you can't wait for the future to plan for the future. You've got to be looking at it now to look forward, and the club's in a great place, we're in a great moment, but we have to always look forward. That is a part of his role, to oversee that and to make sure that we are in the best possible position as a football club to grow that department in order to get the best players in, so that we can perform.
 
What challenge you're expecting from Don’s (Cowie) side tomorrow?
 
I think they'll be very determined. Obviously, Don, I know well, he was my first ever signing as a manager. Don, when I was manager at Watford. 50 grand, I think he was, and he did brilliant for me at Watford. So I've known him since those days. I've always been in contact with him and followed him. Obviously, he worked closely with Malky (Mackay) and then he went out on his own. I think he's done a really, really good job. The game that we played up there, I think it could be a similar type of game. They were super organised, they all knew the job, they all knew the role, and we had to work very hard at the end to get the result. So, I will expect a similar game. They'll carry a threat in various moments, but for us, we're at home, and we love playing at home. We want to be at home, we want to showcase our energy, and our attitude in the game, and that's what we'll look to bring. So, it will be a tough game, I'm sure.