BRENDAN Rodgers last night expressed confidence his makeshift Celtic defence can cope with the challenge of facing Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller even though he fully expects his players to be given a torrid evening by the renowned Bayern strikeforce.
Rodgers will once again be forced to reshuffle his backline after Jozo Simunovic, his injury-blighted first choice centre back, was ruled out of the Group B match in the Allianz Arena with a hamstring strain.
The Northern Irishman, whose side are level on points with their Bavarian opponents after two games, confessed it was a significant setback ahead of a demanding away fixture against such formidable opponents.
Read more: Stewart Fisher: Why can't Brendan Rodgers manage Scotland as well as Celtic?
His side slumped to a heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of Paris-Saint-Germain in their opening game in the group stage in Glasgow last month when they were deprived of Dedryck Boyata’s services and he had to change his rearguard.
However, he stressed he has complete faith in the group of players who will take to the field – and right back Cristian Gamboa appears set to be given the nod ahead of Nir Bitton and Anthony Ralston – tonight.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s why you have a squad,” said Rodgers. “In the last couple of seasons, we’ve gone into the most-important games, the qualifiers, without key defenders.
“You can’t cry about it. You have to find a way. You have to find the solutions and ensure everyone in the team is ready and focused and respect they can do the job.
“When you are challenging on so many fronts, you need the squad. The players know I trust them and also know the demands of what we expect when they go in.”
Rodgers added: “The team has been very strong defensively when Jozo and Dedryck have played together. We saw that in the games against Anderlecht and Rangers.
“As a coach and a manager you want that stability at your centre half positions because you build your base around that set up. And we’ve never been able to do that which has meant trying at times to bring others in or change the shape. But we’ll be ready and get on with it.”
Rodgers believes the return of his captain Scott Brown, along with his central midfield partner Stuart Armstrong, will increase Celtic’s chances of getting a result against a Bayern side still smarting from their 3-0 defeat to PSG in Paris last month.
“He has that presence in the team,” he said. “He has led it for such a long time and played in it for 10 years. Browny is someone who gets on the ball. He has the physical courage to be competitive and the mental courage to go and take the ball.
“When you have that type of influence then of course it inspires the others. I think the rest has probably helped him a bit. He looks strong and fit and has trained well. He performs in the big games so I’m sure he will perform tomorrow night.”
He will need to. This has not, by their own high standards, been a memorable spell for Bayern Munich. Their indifferent domestic and European form resulted in their manager Carlo Ancelotti being sacked last month and being replaced by his equally revered Jupp Heynckes.
Rodgers believes their rivals will have been lifted by the return of the man who led them to a treble – Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League – in his last season in the dugout here back in 2012/13 and expects them to perform to the level for which they have long been renowned regardless.
“I have read reports of them not doing well, but they are still a crack team full of world class players,” he said. “They are a team who will want to do well in this competition. They’ll push us to the limits.
“They have changed manager and that has had a bounce effect as evidenced in the game at the weekend. They will be hoping that it’s a new start and they will look to get the win having gone into the game on the same points as us.
“They are top class players so it doesn’t matter who is their manager. They will be motivated regardless. But they have a man who is hugely respected within the club and won the treble last time out.
“They have comfort with him and the Freiburg game – even though they had chances – showed their quality. We will have to be at our best to get something from this.”
Asked if this Bayern side were potential Champions League winners, he said: “That’s what they will consider themselves to be. They are a super club of the world and that’s what is demanded of them.
“It’s about winning, but like other big teams, it’s about how you win. They will look to go close with players who have already won the tournament. Experienced players who will want to go again. They will be hoping they can go close again along with all the others.”
Celtic have never won in Germany in 55 years of European competition and are not exactly fancied to do so this time around, but Rodgers, whose team drew 1-1 with Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League group stages, is undeterred by their previous disappointments.
“I’m not into records,” he said. “If we can play as well as we did the last time we were in Germany, then hopefully we can put on a good performance. We grew into the game, showed confidence and pressed the game well. We passed it reasonably well and could, and should, have won it at the end. So we might go one better.”
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