- The Parkhead side have dominated Rangers this season but the manager says his side have full respect for their rivals ahead of the grand final at Hampden.
- Rodgers admits his team has been “on fire” in recent months and goes into the game “in ideal conditions”
- He says lifting the trophy would be the icing on the cake after Celtic regained their Premiership crown last weekend.
Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic will never be forced to take victory over Rangers for granted.
The newly crowned Premiership champions head into Saturday’s Scottish Cup final as bookmakers’ favorites to finish the season unbeaten in five meetings with their bitter rivals.
A Celtic win would also bring the clubs level in the trophy count with 118 each.
With last weekend’s title celebrations over, Rodgers has ordered his players to regain focus and get back to work.
Downplaying suggestions of Celtic dominance over Philippe Clement’s team, he said: “No, you can never have that arrogance.” That’s not how we work. We have humility in the way we work, we respect every opponent we play, whether it’s Rangers, Raith or whoever, we have to prepare for the game.
“But we came into the game in ideal conditions. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. We’ve been on fire the last few months, playing very well.
Brendan Rodgers shares a joke with Daizen Maeda ahead of Saturday’s final
The Celtic manager appears relaxed while chatting with his players in training
Rodgers speaks briefly to James Forrest, who has been called up to the Scotland squad
“There were a lot of challenges for us at the beginning of the season: playing every three or four days, when we were missing some really important players.
“But I think over the course, as the season has built up into the months of pressure, the players have been excellent in the way they’ve dealt with that.
“So we come in having won the league in a really good way and playing well. We come into this in good condition.”
After a challenging and challenging season, when their team was eliminated from the Viaplay Cup in August, the champions took their third consecutive title by a margin of eight points.
Recognizing that a league and cup double would be the icing on the cake, Rodgers challenged his players to cross the line one last time after the joy of lifting the Premiership trophy.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor will look to celebrate a league and cup double
Greg Taylor and James Forrest talk tactics ahead of Hampden showpiece
Celtic will look for Kyogo Furuhashi’s goals against Rangers on Saturday
“We had a celebration last weekend, but it was also a work day for us,” he added. “We wanted to win the game, which was brilliant and the weekend overall for Celtic was good, and the women’s team won the league too.”
“But, as I said to the players earlier in the week: ‘You’ve had that relaxation, now it’s time to focus.’
‘We have to do the job: the focus, work and intensity have been at the highest level. So focus is the word.”