“They have been absolutely fantastic,” Brendan Rodgers | OneFootball

Before speaking to the gathered journalists in the media room at Lennoxtown ahead of a match that is live on Sky Sports, Brendan Rodgers will do an interview outside the main building at the club’s training complex with the broadcaster.

Celtic v theRangers – Celtic Park Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers reacts on the touchline during the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Sunday September 1, 2024. Photo Steve Welsh

Here’s Brendan’s chat with Sky Sports from earlier today…

Q: How much are you looking forward to the game on Sunday?

Brendan Rodgers: “They’re great games to be involved in and obviously being at home is great for us, so yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

Daizen Maeda of Celtic training. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: How much do you look back at January and does that give you extra motivation to put that right this time around?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, very much so. It was a game where we were nowhere near the level that we normally consistently play at. We never met the demands of the game and surprisingly when we went behind early we never reacted to that. But that has been one of very few blips for the squad this season. They have been absolutely fantastic. We’ll approach the game in the way we approach every game in a sort of must win mentality.”

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic looks on following the SPL Premier League match between Rangers FC and Celtic FC at Ibrox on January 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Do you have to mention January or is it just there with the players given the standards you have set, they know what they need to do this weekend?

Brendan Rodgers: “The players will be clear. You always go in and re-enforce our performance level and how we want to work, but I only think you need to look at the reaction and at that point on 2nd January we were 14 points clear at that point. We now arrive 16 points clear, so the reaction there, I think you can see with the players. But certainly in these games, we know what the game needs, what you need to bring to the game and that will be our focus in order to perform.”

Celtic v theRangers – Callum McGregor celebrates scoring Celtic’s third Celtic goal of the game during the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Sunday September 1, 2024. Photo Steve Welsh

Q: Just looking at the squad, how is Callum McGregor?

Brendan Rodgers: “We’ll make a final decision on Callum tomorrow. Very similar to last week, Callum didn’t;t train a great deal last week. Fitness-wise he’s obviously in a great place but like last week we gave him every opportunity to make the game. He made it, played 75 minutes and was very good, so similar this week with an issue in and around his calf but we’ll assess that tomorrow and see where he’s at.”

Q: In a game such as this, you will give him up to the last chance to make it given his experience in this fixture and what he gives your team?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, always. He is so pivotal to the team. In both my spells here he’s been absolutely brilliant. But if he doesn’t make it, we’ve played without Callum this season and done very well. But he’s a top player for us. He gives great balance to the team. So we want to give him every chance and we’ll take it from there.”

Celtic v Rangers – Celtic Park during the Scottish Premiership match at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Sunday September 1, 2024. Photo Andrew Milligan

Q: Over your two spells this is the seventh different Rangers manager or head coach you’ve come up against. Do you expect anything different from them?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think Barry has only been in a short time. It’s hard to assess in terms of a manager or a coach as it’s only been four games. But there’s no doubt Barry’s connection with the supporters because of his time there as a player, he will have the passion for the job which you can clearly see. he will be very happy to be there at this current time and has done very well over the two legs to qualify. But for us our focus is very much on ourselves. I think what I have seen over the four games, there’s nothing too different from what I have seen before, but in time that may change.”

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Daizen Maeda of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Quarter-Final match between Celtic and Hibernian at Celtic Park on March 09, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: They had to go to extra-time and penalties, you had a free week to prepare. Do you try to use that energy have and impose that on the game?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s all mental anyway. I think back to a recent example I had in 2021 when my Leicester team played peak Manchester City on 26th (December) and peak Liverpool on the 28th, so visually hardly any time in between.  And in the second game when we arrived to play Liverpool who had a far greater rest than us, we won the game 1-0. Ademola Lookman scored a fantastic goal and we won the game. So for me it’s a real mental thing, it terms of tiredness and fatigue and all that. When you are at a big club, you are here to play games, you are here to play in big games and we’ve done that throughout the season. This last couple of weeks has been the first chance to have that recovery. But we have had a good week,  a good working week. Finish that tomorrow and look to bring our running game,  our intensity into Sunday’s game.”

READ THIS…“We have to make it really difficult for the Rangers,” Brendan Rodgers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers prior to the Celtic v Hibernian – Scottish Gas Scottish Cup match on March 09, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Finally Brendan, when you are so close to the title, when it’s so close and the players can see the finishing line, is that an extra motivating factor?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well we’ve put in a top of hard work, a lot of great performances over the course of the season, but we still have a lot of work to do to finish the season how we would want. But  this time of the season is just about focusing on each game and it really is that. People will look at this finishing line and see it as possibly close but for us you can only focus on the next game and that’s what we’re doing.”

27 August 2000: Henrik Larsson celebrates during the Scottish Premier League match against Rangers at Celtic Park. Celtic won the game 6 – 2. Photo: Stu Forster /Allsport

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