Brendan Rodgers has urged Celtic supporters to stay calm after last night’s 1-0 defeat to Lincoln Red Imps.
Although the tie will almost certainly be turned around in the second leg the enormity of last night’s result seems to have escaped the new Celtic manager.
When a manager deals with the media it is generally a different message to the one delivered in the dressing room to players, it has to be.
Protecting the players is part of a manager’s remit but last night’s defeat to Lincoln Red Imps plunged a new depth as far as most Celtic fans are concerned. One that requires swift and urgent action if it is not to impact on the entire season.
Straight after the match Rodgers said: “It’s a two-legged affair and our objective here is to get through and I have seen enough in the game for us to get through in the second game.
“The message to them (the fans) is to stay calm. This is a good group of players, they are good guys who are working hard and in a week’s time we will need the support next week to hopefully get the job done next week.
“We understand what we want to get to and what we want to achieve. This was a tough game in tough conditions and we never took our chances and they took their chances but the second-leg will be different.
“There is no panic. We know the type of quality of player to get in and help the team and squad and that’s something we will work on. In the meantime we have enough quality players to get through into the next round. We have to stay together as a team.
“It’s a two-legged affair and our objective here is to get through and I have seen enough in the game for us to get through in the second game.”
Over the next week Rodgers has to make some big decisions on this ‘good group of players’. They have delivered a lot in terms of titles but have also suffered too many cup defeats.
More than a second round Champions League qualifying round needs turned around- it’s unlikely that the ‘good group of players’ are going to be around if Rodgers is to achieve his ambitions at Celtic.