Brendan Rodgers says that Celtic are ready ‘to attack’ the Champions League, believing that his squad is in the best possible shape to rise to the challenge of progressing to the knockout stage of the competition.
Celtic limbered up for their opening match of the league stage against Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday night by seeing off Hearts at home by two goals to nil, with new additions Arne Engels and Luke McCowan both opening their accounts for the club.
And the football Celtic have played in the early part of the season and the strength in depth he now has in his ranks has Rodgers eagerly anticipating the step up to take on Europe’s best.
“I'm really excited by it,” Rodgers said.
“I think we've got good balance in the squad.
“We've got areas, of course, that I would want to improve later on, but we've done a hell of a lot of work and real, real good work, I believe, over the course of the summer. I think we go in in a real positive place.
“The mindset is strong. We're ready to attack the competition. We know the level that we're playing at, but it's OK. We will go and we'll give it everything.
“We want to make a really positive start on Wednesday and we're looking forward to it.”
When asked if his aim is to make a mark in Europe this season after some disappointing campaigns in the past, Rodgers said: “Yes, absolutely.
“I think the bread and butter, we can never, ever forget that. It's so important. It's the lives of so many supporters, especially here in Glasgow for their team. We can never, ever discount that and we can never, ever think it's easy.
“Because, I believe, you may be playing for Celtic, managing Celtic, people say it's easy. It's not easy. It's certainly not, because of the demand, the expectation, the mentality that you need to succeed. And the culture, thankfully, that we have here is a winning culture.
“But it was to make the next steps. And the next step was probably in Europe. At the very highest level, it was a real, real challenge for us.
“So many really good managers before me, it's been a challenge also. But we're hoping now that with a strong squad, with improvements still to make in our play, that we can go and really attack it.
“And we're excited by that.”
Rodgers reserved some special praise for club record signing Arne Engels, who scored the opening goal against Hearts from the penalty spot on his first Celtic start.
“He's going to be a really good player,” he said.
“He's tall, he's athletic, he can run, his touch is good. He's aggressive, he presses, he counter-presses. So, I really like him, that's why we brought him here. And at 20 years of age, he's only going to improve.
“So, yes, so pleased for him. And obviously, he gets the penalty, so he shows his courage to take it and score.
“There's still work that we have to do with him in terms of his position. But that's just rhythm, that's just time, that's just training. That's the process that these players come into.
“But overall, really happy for him.”
