BRENDAN RODGERS believes his Celtic team have taken a ‘big mental step forward’ in recent weeks as the players come to terms with what he is asking of them, and that is now being shown in the quality of their football.
Celtic stuttered slightly in the early knockings of the season as they exited the League Cup at Kilmarnock and were held to a goalless draw at home to a struggling St Johnstone side, but have since won against Rangers at Ibrox and maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Premiership with an impressive showing against Livingston last weekend.
And Rodgers believes the upturn in performance level is directly related to the fact that uncertainty over the future of some players has been removed since the closing of the transfer window, and that his squad now understand what he expects of them.
“It’s just the constant development of the team,” Rodgers said.
“I prioritise quality football, in terms of the work.
“I think over the course of the summer and probably early parts of the season during the transfer window, there was probably that feeling of maybe a little bit of instability and whether players were going to be here or are they not. With a new manager coming in, what is he asking us to do?
“But now, I think the team have taken a big mental step forward, and I think you see that in how they’re performing. The determination, the intensity, and the quality starting to move forward into the levels that I’d wanted to get to. That’s always the beginning of a really good team.
“I’m really happy with the progress that we’re making day by day, but we have to keep working and working very hard.
“My priority in my career and my body of work has always been about the quality of our football, and that’s the quality of football to win games. We’re starting to see that now.”
