Brendan Rodgers’ unseen Celtic approach that sparked Champions League progress revealed by major insider
Callum McGregor says Celtic will feel a million dollars walking out at Villa Park.
And the skipper says referencing Brendan Rodgers’ presentation document has been key to progression and success under the educational manager. McGregor has led his team into the Champions League play-offs with Wednesday’s final section phase encounter against the English Premier League side to spare. Rodgers has delivered the development in Europe and his captain has no doubts about the gaffer’s influence on the group and his own improvements through the boss’ two spells at Parkhead.
McGregor explained: “He makes you feel like a million dollars when you walk on to the pitch. He has helped me think about football in a different way. You start to understand the game, how it’s pieced together and how it should look with the ball, without the ball.
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“When you see football like that it becomes so simple and you think: How did I not know this before? [Europe] is something we spoke about. It’s nice when you get nights like Wednesday [beating Young Boys] where you kind of cross a little finish line and reach an objective.
“He has more experience, he knows his way around the building. So you probably get a bit more relaxed version of him this time around, but he’s still so demanding on the players.
“One thing he does is simplify the game. He makes it really, really simple for players. Everyone’s in the right position and then it frees players up to make good decisions and bring their own personality to the game. When he came back I was excited for the young lads because I was one of them first time he was here and he opened my eyes.”
McGregor also discussed the detailed approach of the manager and his ways of getting messages across to the squad. During his spells at Liverpool and Leicester, Rodgers issued documentation to his squads about the needs and demands required from the unit.
McGregor says the same thing has happened at Celtic as, speaking in the Sunday Times, the skipper said: “When he came back, he did a big presentation and then gave us a physical copy of that. It’s nice to have that reminder you can look at and reference exactly where he wants the team to be at certain points. It’s another example of the way he teaches football.”
