A week after losing 1-0 to Lincoln Red Imps Brendan Rodgers has explained why he stands by his view that the defeat wasn’t embarrassing.
That comment caused almost as much shock as the result itself but the new Celtic manager has said that his reply was related to whether he was embarrassed by the players.
The bulk of the players involved experienced last season’s cup defeats to Ross County and Sevco with few supporters having confidence in that group of players.
Tonight Celtic will be looking to atone for that defeat and book a place in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
A resounding win tonight will confirm last week’s defeat as a blip and not a catastrophe as Celtic edge towards the next round of Champions League qualification.
Asked if he stood by his comment that the defeat wasn’t embarrassing he told The Sun: “Yeah, 150 per cent. I was disappointed with the result, everyone was, results will always spark a reaction.
“The question was ‘Was I embarrassed by the players?’. No I wasn’t. They are a good group who are giving me everything.
“The problem with modern football is that everything is a shock, it’s the worst result in the world.
“For me, it has always been about getting the job done. I’ve never been one to get too carried away with a win. I never get too disillusioned when I lose.
“The job is perspective. These games are always built up as walkovers but there are not too many of them these days.
“It doesn’t matter who the bodies are, if they work in a bank or not. If you have 11 people behind a ball and they are fit, they can make it very difficult for you.
“I will always be honest with the players. Our job was to qualify and it was half-time and now we play the second half.”
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