'Being out Here Lets Us Work Very Closely Together. It's A Very Important Week For Us'

A Word With The Manager.

- Tony Connelly And Laith Al Naeme

CELTIC’S winter training camp in Dubai has become an annual tonic for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and the manager is confident that the Scottish champions can reap the benefits of this year’s break as they regroup and strengthen for the remainder of the campaign.

The winter break has given the Hoops some much-needed respite following a busy start to the 2018/19 season, which began back in mid-July against Alashkert in Armenia. That was the first of 38 games which Celtic played before the end of the year.

To put that into some context, Celtic’s English counterparts at the top of the Premier League, Liverpool, played 27 games from the start of their season up until the New Year.

With Celtic competing across three competitions in the second part of the season, Brendan Rodgers stressed the importance of recuperating and preparing for the challenges which await the seven-in-a-row champions in the coming weeks and months.

“We had such a busy first period to the season,” said the manager in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “The schedule was crazy right the way through to the end of December. It’s like that because we are successful, so that comes hand-in-hand. It’s important that the players had that bit of recovery time and then they can come out here to work hard.

“After a week’s break with family, it’s then an opportunity to reinforce and introduce some new concepts. To do that in the heat is beneficial, and being out here lets us work very closely together. It’s a very important week for us.