Brendan Rodgers insists he welcomes the challenge from unbeaten Aberdeen ahead of tonight’s mouth-watering clash at Hampden.
The Celtic manager’s impeccable record of 11 wins in 11 visits to the national stadium in semi-finals and finals during his two spells at Parkhead means he can of course approach the match with confidence.
Rodgers, however, is more than happy to acknowledge and even welcome the renewed challenge to Celtic’s domestic hegemony currently posed by Jimmy Thelin’s vibrant Aberdeen.
“I think it’s brilliant,” said Rodgers as he prepared for tonight’s intriguing Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
“Whether it’s football or business, any competition is healthy and it’s what makes you better.”
Jimmy Thelin and Brendan Rodgers will face each other this weekend at Hampden
Their respective teams played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Celtic Park earlier this month.
Rodgers hopes to hand the Dons their first loss of the season tonight.
‘You will always push your own standards and your own standard of performance, absolutely. But competition is really healthy and can continue to move you forward.
“Aberdeen are up there fighting and everyone will expect Rangers to be there at some stage.” There will be other teams, the big Edinburgh clubs, who will feel they want to compete up there too.
“So I think the more competitive it is, that can improve.”
While Thelin’s transformation of Aberdeen has been surprising to many observers, Rodgers believes the Pittodrie club are simply in the kind of position he has always associated them with. “I’m not surprised by his form this season,” he insisted.
“It is a great credit to them, they have played with great consistency in their first ten league games and they have really good players.”
“Jimmy has done a fantastic job and he also has a good coaching staff behind the scenes.
‘But I always hope Aberdeen are up there after my first time here. During Derek McInnes’ time in charge he had a great spell and seeing them there is no surprise. “They are playing and performing very well.”
If Aberdeen’s 2-1 victory over Rangers at Pittodrie on Wednesday was a decisive result for Thelin, it was their recovery from a 2-0 half-time deficit to earn a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park two weeks ago that which indicated more clearly that they can be real contenders with the Swedish coach.
Nicky Devlin scored in Wednesday’s big win over Rangers at Pittodrie
“Yes, that’s a warning to us,” Rodgers added. “But I’m clear that it’s a game we should have won.” We were up 2-0 and we had other opportunities. Then we were punished for our laziness in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
“Whether it was because it was right after the break or not, I don’t know. But it wasn’t at the level we expected and would like.
“If you do that against technical players who can run behind, then that can hurt you.”
‘That has to be a learning experience for us and it will be. But we also know that we need to play very well to reach the final.
‘It’s just about making sure you stay calm in your approach.
“It’s about that balance between being super aggressive when you don’t have the ball, showing hunger to have it and being organized defensively.
And then play calmly and quickly when you have the ball. That’s something we’ve always preached.
‘Before this, both teams had a midweek match. Our concentration was on Dundee and then we quickly moved on to this one.
‘He has been very focused. “Every game is important to us, so this week’s mantra is no different.”
Callum McGregor is expected to play for Celtic after missing the last two games through injury.
Rodgers is relishing the prospect of another trip to Hampden. It has become a familiar and constantly rewarding experience, but one that is never taken for granted.
“It’s been a great joy to go there, but I’ve always treated it like it was my first time,” he said. “That’s always been my way of thinking.”
“It’s great to go there and see half the stadium full of Celtic fans and the chance to win or get to a final. This time it won’t be any different.”
One small difference is that Celtic do not go into the game as holders of the cup under Rodgers, having been knocked out of the competition in the second round by Kilmarnock during a difficult first half of last season.
It provides added incentive to reclaim the famous three-handed trophy that gave Rodgers his first major honor as Celtic manager when they defeated Aberdeen 3-0 in the 2016-17 final.
Adam Idah is also vying for a starting spot in today’s semi-final.
“This certainly makes us hungry, because last season we missed it,” he agreed. ‘But we are in a very different place than last year.
‘We are hungry to reach the first final of the season. Last year we were very disappointed when we couldn’t compete. But we are in favor of this one.
‘Winning it for the first time was brilliant, a great feeling. We played very well in that final, so I think it gave the fans a little bit of confidence in me, that I was here to win and that we could win.
“It was one that escaped us last year and that didn’t sit very well with us.”
With Callum McGregor and Adam Idah set to return, Rodgers has plenty of options to consider ahead of kick-off.
“I have to make some decisions in terms of the team,” he said. “I think all players have value in playing. Any player could do it.
“A lot of the guys that have been playing recently have shown great value in how they have been playing and how they have performed.
‘There will be a role for all of them at some point. Feeling doesn’t come into play. “I need to pick what I think is the best team to win this game and I will do that.”