'That's The Reason You Play Football - To Entertain The Suppporters And Win'

A Word with the Manager.

- Tony Connelly

CELTIC got a tough week off to a flying start with an excellent 4-2 win against Hibernian at the weekend, and they will be looking to maintain that form against RB Leipzig in the Europa League and Hearts in the League Cup semi-final.

Brendan Rodgers’ side went into the international break with a vital three points, thanks to their 6-0 win against St Johnstone. The performance was exceptional and left Hoops supporters looking forward to the next game, against an in-form Hibernian side who were sitting second in the Premiership table.

Any fears that the international fixtures would derail the momentum were quickly allayed on Saturday as the Scottish champions produced another superb performance to take all three points, courtesy of goals from Tom Rogic, Olivier Ntcham and a double from Odsonne Edouard.

The manager was delighted with the win and the performance, which entertained the overwhelming majority of the sell-out crowd at Celtic Park.

“Performance-wise, first and foremost we built on the previous game against St Johnstone where you could start to see that intent and the real conviction in how we’ve been attacking,” Brendan Rodgers told the Celtic View.

“Hibs were trying to win the game as well, and it’s nice when you go into a game of football and both teams go out to win.

“That’s the reason you play football - to entertain the supporters and win. We did that on Saturday and the game was a great advert for the Scottish game. It was a full house, a great atmosphere and both teams tried to win.

“From a coaching perspective, it was a great game to be involved in. Different things were happening in the game which you have to respond to and react to. You could see both sets of players giving their all to win.