Rodgers: Our key players return would make football smile

• Looking forward to a return to Hampden Park
• Coming alive at the right time of the season
• Dealing with expectation and pressure but enjoying it at the same time
• Other teams results are 'irrelevant'
• Never lost a game at the National Stadium
• Reliving the 'Invincible' final

Everything that Brendan Rodgers said to the media ahead of Celtic's Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden Park

Can we start with an injury update and is there any news on Daizen Maeda?

No. Daizen is still out. We will just need to see over the remainder of the weeks left if he plays any part but he won't play on Saturday. Liam Scales is back available in the squad.

How are you feeling ahead of the semi-final?

I'm really looking forward to it. I had to wait a long time to get back to Hampden. The Scottish Cup is a competition which is very rich in its history, especially for a club like Celtic having won it 41 times. The memories created in this competition over the years are iconic for the club. For us to be able to take that step and have another opportunity to win it, I am looking forward to that.

You said last week that this is the time when Celtic comes alive - semi-finals, finals, the last five games of the season - have you sensed that in the squad in training this week?

Yes. Our training rehearsals have been great this week. I just think everyone is on the same page. We have players back available. The quality and speed of the training has been absolutely superb. It's the time of the season like I said when a club like Celtic comes alive with anticipation and opportunity to win titles. That's something I found here during my first time and that is the feeling here again this time around.

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You have a few players who will be playing at Hampden Park for the first time. Does that help them realise how to cope with the pressure of the experience and know what it is all about playing for Celtic? Do you remember your first time at Hampden was it a special occasion?

It was. When you come to a club like Celtic there is an expectation to win. I know the feeling is much greater now than when I was first here. I felt leading into that first League Cup semi-final there was a bit of trepidation playing at Hampden. I said at that time if you are going to become winners then you have got to start enjoying it and you enjoy it by playing well and winning. That's always been my focus going into these games. I am always looking to perform. Of course, there is big anticipation around them and big pressure but you've got to embrace that and look to perform. In the main any time I have gone there I have always felt the team has really performed to a really high technical and tactical level. It will be the same message, we go there, and we respect Aberdeen although it has not been a great season for them in terms of league and changes in manager. The semi-final is always a tough game but we are ready for it.

Does it make them more dangerous as this is a chance for them to salvage their season?

Yes. It is certainly something that we have to expect. It will be a tough game and any team that gets to a semi-final is there with an opportunity to get to a final. I envisage Peter (Leven) and his team will look to take the opportunity. For us, the focus is on ourselves and our own performance. I am focused on that. I've done nothing else other than prepare for this game. Our training this week in terms of intensity and the feel has been really good and now we have got to take that into the game.

Can it be a different opponent when you know a new manager is waiting to come in and he's watching these guys until the end of the season?

No. I don't see that. The new manager will come in and then be able to put his stamp on it. There's no doubt he will be looking at the game to see how his players cope with pressure and how they deal with it. Aberdeen is a big club and they want to be in these moments. We had Aberdeen in the League and Scottish Cup finals when I was here the first time and they were really good games. The second one, in particular, was a tight game. He (Jimmy Thelin) will have a look at things but it won't have any bearing on this game. Peter will have his team organised and he will be looking to cause an upset.

In terms of the league you said with seven games to go a lot could happen. How do you view it now?

We don't play in the league for over a week or so. It is not my focus. My message has always been the same, It is not how you start the marathon it is how you finish. For us, we are improving day by day. We are looking good on the field. We still have lots of improvements to make. Our performances in the main have been good. There is still a long way to go in terms of the league. Five games and 15 points is a lot of points to play for. Our focus right now is very much on getting to the final.

How much importance do you place on momentum and your team peaking at the right time of the season?

Well, clearly it helps. We've had an inconsistent period, especially in the first six months or so but naturally, I can see the reasons why that would be. I have always maintained that once we had key, influential players back playing for us then the football will smile much more. That's how it's been we have been good in the games but I still strive for more consistency in the team. That is something spoke to the players about in the week. We had a really good performance against St Mirren which for some might have felt like a run-of-the-mill 3-0 victory but St Mirren have proven themselves to be really difficult opponents and they are super-organised with Steve (Robinson) and his staff. To come out of that game with a really impressive scoreline and the players doing really well was good. They kept that calmness which was really important and they also looked to play how we wanted to play. It is very pleasing. Momentum is important. We want to keep that going.

Dealing with pressure. How important is that at this stage of the season?

It is everything. Self-control is what you need in this environment of high stakes and high pressure. It is needed no more so when you are under pressure. That's when your poise and experiences come into it. Dealing with pressure is something you need to do when you are at a club of this size.

There is still work to be done but you are in a strong position. Have you had any doubts when there were wobbles as you have always been consistent that things would come good?

Listen, we haven't won anything yet. We are in a great semi-final. We are improving and getting better and the performance level is showing that. I demand more from the team and we will push right through the very last whistle of the season. It's a part of a league campaign you will not play 38 league games or cup games to the very highest level. You are going to have those dips and those waves. Your strength is really how you shift that. That's the real strength whenever those moments and things are not going quite well can you shift and get the team back on track. The players have been absolutely brilliant. They have had to dig in for lots of moments this season and gain the results. We just chipped away and stayed focused on our game model and how we play and when important and influential players come back in then all the pieces come together again. The fluidity of the team is much better. You can never have doubts and I think the more we have worked together the more we have come together and everybody on and off the pitch is on the same page.

You are an FA Cup-winning manager. What have you made of the replay changes because there's a lot of debate down in England?

I can see it from both sides. It's always an opportunity for the smaller team to earn more revenue and bring a bigger team back to their stadium. I think the teams that are playing lots of games would prefer it to be finished in one game because if you are in European fixtures and then your players are in international games, then it's a lot of football. So, there's a case for both. But like I say, there's clearly a protection there of the players playing too many games and that always has to be at the centre of any decision.

What about Hampden's history and hoodoos? Although you've not lost at Hampden yet.

It's nice to know that and hopefully that continues. I just sensed a wee bit of trepidation around it when I first came in from the players and even staff outside it, and everything that had happened for the team there. But I think as long as you can control what you can and go into it with that confidence in your preparation, and not overthink it, just play your game. We know when we can do that then football will bring success for us. That was it really from that first semi-final that we played, we played really well then we went into the League Cup game, and we were absolutely outstanding in that game. So, that gave the players a good feeling, and when we were to go back there later on in the season, we again played well and obviously in the final game of that season was a historical game. Then after that, it was the first season we started to enjoy, and most importantly, the supporters went and had that expectation of winning, and that's what success should look like. That expectation, going and playing, and looking forward to it, and see where it takes you.

Has it become a place that you personally have taken to heart and enjoy?

I've loved all the games there. The semi-finals have been great atmospheres, the finals there's that edge on it to get your hands on a trophy, so to win that first League Cup was so special that first season. To then come into the Scottish Cup, again, I've got so many memories of that growing up as a child and knowing what it means to this club, and always with that ambition to add to the trophy haul for the club. So, I've thoroughly enjoyed it, and I say it jokingly, but I have missed it this year, not having the chance to go. When I went a couple of times, I went to see Scotland and now it's the chance to be on the sidelines, which is what I want.

Had you been to Hampden before that first semi-final or just seen it on TV?

Yeah, just saw it on telly and have never been.

You mention that historic moment at the end of that season, I heard Scott Brown say this week that was his favourite moment of all the trophies he won at Celtic - that Tom Rogic winning goal. Where does that rank for you in your overall tenure?

It's such a special place, Hampden, and we will never forget those scenes. It was a really nerve-racking final. We had not got off to a great start then we came back into the game. The game ebbed and flowed but as it went on, that final half hour, it looked like we were the ones that were going to score. We kept pushing but Derek's team kept fighting and held us out until Tom's moment of magic won the game. All the scenes with Craig on his knees, it was just such an incredible feeling there that day. I've loved the times at Hampden, playing in those games.

As a stadium, it sometimes gets a bad reputation, in terms of atmosphere, but on days like that when it's full, it can be quite something, can't it?

There's no doubt the game and the occasion will create the atmosphere. It's how every time I've been there, I've loved the atmosphere. There's never been a time, whether that was the Rangers games, the Aberdeen, or Motherwell, every time I've been there, it's always felt like a great occasion. You may say that when you win, of course, and that does help, but I've always felt with the 50/50 support or obviously with Motherwell, it was a bit more, but it's always been great occasions and they are occasions to enjoy.

You can't influence events elsewhere, but can events elsewhere and results elsewhere, have an impact on the general mood of your squad - especially this week? Have you noticed a change this week with what's happened elsewhere?

Not really. I think our focus has always been on ourselves and I made that point to the players irrespective of what happens with other results. The way it goes for other teams, we can only do our work, because you can soften up, especially at this time just because another team might have drawn or lost or whatever. That's irrelevant because you've got to perform and get the result. If you come off it against teams who are motivated and organised, then they can give you a problem. So, for us, we have to continually focus on our performance irrespective of what happens elsewhere. As I said, we have to create our story, and for that, we have to work at it, and that hopefully will be the storyline come the end of the season.

Players enjoying a bit of downtime this week - have they been told to enjoy a bit of time away from the pressure? Does that help them handle it a bit better?

I think it does. It's a great city up here, and it's great living. I haven't actively encouraged it. I think I trust the players, they are a fantastic group of professionals, and they must have that social side as well at the right time. But that's something that I have said to them to get out and about.