Celtic boss Rodgers couldn’t sleep thinking about Hearts
THE Hoops gaffer woke up at 4.30am to study tapes of the Jambos ahead of Sunday’s season-opener
BRENDAN RODGERS’ head hit the pillow at 1.30am.
He should have slept like a log after leading his Celtic side to a dramatic win over Astana.
But just three hours later the Hoops boss was up watching videos of Hearts.
Rodgers, whose side were paired with Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Champions League play-off, admitted he couldn’t sleep as thoughts of tomorrow’s Premiership opener raced through his mind.
He said: “My mantra and focus is always the next game anyway. We had a big game during the week, and I got to sleep at 1.30am after it.
“At 4.30, I was studying Hearts for the game on Sunday. You have got no time to rest.
“I didn’t set my alarm, by the way, I just couldn’t sleep!
“I’ve got scouts here who do great work, including John McGlynn who knows Hearts inside out.
“But it’s also good to see it with your own eyes as a coach.
“Now everything gets poured into planning to get the best result against Hearts.
“I watched the last European game which they lost. They worked hard and were very unfortunate.
“Conor Sammon is a new player for them and I know Don Cowie well.
“He is an excellent player, I took Don to Watford when I was manager there, and he did a really good job for me.
“We will give Hearts plenty of respect, but we go there with confidence we can get a result.”
Rodgers has fond memories of his last visit to Gorgie four years ago, when his Liverpool side secured a 1-0 Europa League win against the Jambos.
He is hoping for a similar outcome when he goes head-to-head with Robbie Neilson, an acquaintance from his spell at Anfield.
Rodgers added: “That night with Liverpool, it was very passionate. I was so surprised when they told me afterwards how many people were in the stadium, because it felt like a lot more.
“Scottish fans love their football and are very passionate. When Celtic arrive, it’s a big draw for any of the teams.
“It will be a tough game. Robbie has done an excellent job there. He makes Hearts hard to beat.
“I met him a couple of years ago when I was Liverpool boss. He came down for a couple of days to watch our training and chat about football. I found him a really nice guy, very intelligent and with good communication. I’m glad he has done well.
“It is difficult for him because there is a level of expectancy at Hearts in terms of where they are, what they want to achieve, and with their resources.
“He always has his team set up well, and is very organised. I look forward to seeing him.”
As Rodgers can now testify, Tynecastle can be one of Scottish football’s most intimidating venues when there is a full house and one of the big boys are in town.
But after watching his stars hold their nerve against Astana in the Euro crunch in midweek, the Parkhead gaffer feels he can head along the M8 safe in the knowledge his players have a mindset strong enough to handle whatever is thrown at them.
Rodgers said: “The game is based around dominance, and in order to do that, and be aggressive in possession, you must have a calmness and that has been the beauty for me, to instil that.
“You are never beaten. That has been great to see in a couple of the games, and the Astana match was a perfect example of that.
“We stayed calm, we didn’t panic. When they got back to 1-1 the other night we went to three because three helps us to circulate the ball.
“Three allows you to arrive into the final third of the pitch with greater regularity, and you’ll find that when Astana did get that equaliser, we stayed calm in a lot of positions on the pitch to work the ball again, and eventually we got our reward for that.
“It is about imposing our style and mentality on to games, and the players deserve a lot of credit for that because they have taken it on board and implemented it into games.”
Rodgers will also be hoping for more of the same when his team take on the Israeli outfit for a place in the lucrative group stages of the Champions League.
Rodgers added: “It’s a tough game, but I was expecting tough games right the way through. This won’t be any different.
“What can maybe help us a little bit is they are not in their season. Astana were 22 games in, so when you add that to their own pre-season, then they were at a very good level of fitness.
“The preference, as always, would be to have your second-leg at home. But it means we can put a real good marker down in the first game.
“Being at home with the fanatical support, we can really have a good go in that match, and tee it up for the second game.”