Everything Brendan Rodgers had to say after his side's 2-1 victory over Rangers at Parkhead...

Thoughts on the game?

It was as you expect from these games, very tense and an amazing atmosphere. Listen, I felt we deserved to win the game. We did well with the quite direct approach at times, trying to put pressure onto our back four. But they were coming into the game with confidence. I thought in the spells we had when we moved the ball around – which was difficult because the pitch is difficult I have to say – so that made it a bit more difficult for the fluency I felt at times, but I thought when we played and worked our way through, particularly after the second goal, we were very, very good in the game without too many scares. The only downside for me was when we played 11 v 10. Normally teams would be a bit more controlled than that, and positioning better. Maybe young players getting a wee bit hyped with the game and so that is something we need to improve on when we get to that state of the game. But over the course the effort from the players and ably supported by the supporters, who were brilliant today. 

You scored two great goals. How happy were you with the finishes?

We had a corner worked that didn’t pan out that way because of Rangers’ organisation. But we adapted well. Paulo has shown in training that he strikes it really well so it is brilliant for him and a great moment on the back of getting his first goal in midweek. And the second goal was a really good team goal. We moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other really well and Matt played a great pass to Kyogo and that is what he does – a great turn and strike to give us a real foothold in the game. 

How good was Paulo Bernardo today?

For a young player it was very good. And maybe we lost a little bit when he went off. I was just trying to protect the team really. Obviously he played during the week and when he has played that third game in a week he can get a bit leggy, naturally. He is not a seasoned professional yet. But I was worried there was maybe a couple of challenges where he might have got sent off and I didn’t want to go down to eleven men. But it was a very, very good performance in his first game. 

Callum McGregor was excellent today, wasn't he?

What an amazing player. Wow. You can be so proud of that kid. When I was first here …so I have seen two versions of him. When I was first here I had seen him grow and develop into a really important player for me. He was a player I would have taken anywhere when I left here, he was so good. To be able to come back and have him as my captain I am very, very lucky to be able to come back and have him as my captain, I am very, very lucky. He is just an absolutely brilliant player, on a different level - with the greatest of respect – to everyone else on the pitch. His view of the game, his quality, when to slow the game, when to pick up the tempo. He’s absolutely brilliant. I am so happy for him because it is so important as the Celtic captain in these games to perform and he has done that now in the two games we’ve had against Rangers.

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Is he taken for granted?

No I think thankfully people now recognise his level. I maybe felt that the first time when I was here and sometimes that happens with young players coming through the system. But certainly not now. I think he is very much appreciated by the supporters and certainly by his team-mates and obviously me as a manager. It is amazing to have him.

Has Maik Nawrocki given you food for thought?

It’s not food for thought, I know what I have. He has been unfortunate not to have played a bit earlier. He has picked up little niggles on his way back. He has trained for a few weeks and then picked up niggles when he’s not been involved. But that shows every faith that I have in him. He couldn’t play in the Champions League so to come in I thought he was good when he came in. A couple of moments when he maybe jumped in a wee bit but that is just about getting his timing back again. He passed it well and he is aggressive. He is going to be important for us in the second part of the season.

An update on Stephen Welsh?

Sadly for him it looks like his shoulder popped out. I will wait to hear what the medics say.

Important to put the brakes on Rangers?

Over my two spells here I have worked against five Rangers managers and every time Rangers were coming. Every time, at some point. So for me it’s normal. If I listened to media and press then we would be in constant crisis mode and constant fear of Rangers. But it’s the fifth manager now. So for me my focus is only on Celtic and concentrating very much on here and a lot of the stuff that maybe does go around thankfully I ignore it. We showed today that with a team still missing key players, and players who will make the difference for us, that we are competitive and we can play football and we can compete. And that is what we will continually do. There is no doubt Philippe has improved Rangers. There is no mistake about that. He’s come in, he has used his experience and common sense. He has set the team up well. They are competitive and they play as a team. We knew it was going to be a challenge for us. But we had to be super brave. We had to take on the challenge and that is what I have always done when I’ve been here.”

Expect to be stronger after the break?

We will be. Hatate is back involved today, in a different stage of the game we could have given him some game time. Abada coming back makes a difference for us he is a goalscorer. Other players will come back, Cameron Carter-Vickers will be ready after the break. And hopefully we can add to the squad. I would expect us to be better.”