Top Line Summary 

  • How he prepares the team for derby matches
  • Impressed with Hearts performance
  • Kyogo's 'joy' versus Rangers
  • Callum McGregor's return to form
  • The fans' importance

Everything that Brendan Rodgers said to Celtic TV ahead of the Glasgow Derby this Saturday...

Brendan, it’s Glasgow Derby week - the final league meeting between the sides this season. How’s your squad shaping up after a bruising but dominant performance against Hearts on Saturday?

It was a very good performance. We came through it very well, we’ll have a good preparation this week and we’ll really look forward to this game at the weekend.

Do you prepare for this game just like any other?

Yes. I think it’s important each day to look after the details in the game and focusing on our own performance. It’s the last home game for us and I said it after the last time we played at Ibrox that this game was going to be crucial for us playing in front of our own supporters. It still feels exactly the same but the preparation is very much based around ourselves. We respect the opponents and what they might bring to the game but then looking at who we play and ultimately our process in the game.

The quality of football was there to see on Saturday but also the press and trying to win the ball back and determination across the side. Does that show that your team is battle-ready and prepared for what may lie ahead in the next couple of weeks?

I don’t think there’s any doubt. I think we’ll arrive into the weekend’s game and this will probably be the best version of the team that I’ve had since I’ve been here. When I look at the number of injuries that we’ve had right the way through and the disruptions then it felt like the weekend was probably about there virtually in terms of player availability and where the team is at in terms of fitness as well. I think after another good week of work and concentration on the training field we’ll arrive into Saturday in as good a place as we will have been all season.

Kyogo showing that with quality delivery into the box that he’s the perfect marksman with that speed of thought and reaction to put away those chances. He’s been a real thorn in Rangers’ side since joining the club. How crucial could that be on Saturday?

I think he has a lot of joy against Rangers. Like you say, his two goals at the weekend were real quick anticipations of where the ball was going to go. He’s so alert and alive in and around the box. The second goal is a great pass by Matt O’Riley and then it’s what he does best. Playing off the shoulder of the defenders, his timing is perfect to be onside and he finished it really well. It will always be about the team. There won’t be one player that will have any greater importance or any greater burden to bear than the whole team. We’ll be very connected in the game and that’s how we’ll always play. 

Callum McGregor has the game that can inspire a team and the 60,000 support. He did that early in the second half on Saturday with that double tackle when he was chasing back. It really seemed to set the tone, does that moment illustrate how important he is to you, the team and the club?

Callum’s importance cannot be underestimated with this team. The experience he brings, the quality and view of the game and how inspirational as a leader he is. It was really just about building him up and I felt at that moment when he made the run to challenge not once but twice to win the ball. You see what that gives the supporters, and that’s why the intensity of pressing and aggression sometimes gets a bigger cheer than a pass or a goal, even. At that moment, it was fantastic for him and the team but also for me looking at him knowing that’s him really back to the level that he’s shown.

There was a sense throughout the team on Saturday that they were determined not to let this opportunity slip away. The pressing, the running off the ball and working as a team really showed that the team were ready to work their socks off for each other. It must be very pleasing for the manager on the sidelines to see that?

It is, but it’s not a choice, it’s an obligation. It’s what you have to do. We are a running team and when we run and penetrate, press and counter-press, that’s our game. When we take the game to that level then we play the game to a good level. That was the pleasing aspect, that defensive pressure. We’re playing against a good Hearts team that has done very well in the league this season. They like to build the game and Steven (Naismith) has coached them well to build through the pitch and prepare the team and they have some dangerous players. I felt especially after that first 10-15 minutes or so we got our pressing right and the team was compact and tight. Everyone collectively was synchronised and moving together with and without the ball. That culminates in a good performance.

You’re a veteran of the Glasgow Derby fixture so you know exactly what lies ahead. It will be the final one with no away fans. How important will the atmosphere be for your players?

It goes without saying. I think the crowd for the Hearts game were brilliant for us. I mentioned it before the game about their importance at this stage of the season and really getting behind the football aspect of the club and the team and we see that. Just that emotion that rolled down out of the stand right onto the pitch. You see what it gives the players and how they respond to that. We’ll need exactly the same at the weekend and I know we’ll get that because the supporters are happy with what they’re seeing now in the team and we have to play our part in that. It should be a great occasion and I’m really looking forward to that.