BRENDAN Rodgers has called on Celtic to harness the "power" of Parkhead and record a fourth successive Champions League win at home which moves them to within touching distance of the knockout rounds.

The Scottish champions have beaten Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava and RB Leipzig in their last three European outings in the East End of Glasgow and will be bidding to make it a grand slam of victories in their league phase match against Club Brugge tomorrow evening.

Rodgers knows how important the Celtic supporters’ backing has been during those triumphs and is keen for his charges to give their fans another performance to cheer against Belgian rivals who beat Aston Villa at home in their last outing.

 “For us, it’s another opportunity to show the power of Celtic Park,” he said. “I've got absolutely no doubt that every team and their supporters will feel that their football ground is special, really special to be there and to play there and I respect that.

“But I know this club and I know the fans and I know the stadium. So I know how special it really is to play here and how difficult it can be. But what you have to be able to do is match that with the performance.

“That's something that has really pleased me in these recent home games in the Champions League. It's not just a tick box for players and clubs to come here and say they've played at Celtic Park. They come and realise they're going to be in for a game here because of that combination of the support base and the team making it a really difficult night.”

Rodgers added: “My own expectation is that I have that belief that we can come in and perform and I think the players believe that as well. But we have the humility to understand that you have to really work at this level. I see that in the team anyway.

“We've played 19 games this season, won 16, drew two and lost one to a Champions League finalist [Borussia Dortmund in Germany last month]. So that tells me that the mentality in the team is there, the spirit in the team is there, the grit in the team is there and that we'll never quit in a game.

“So that always gives you confidence as a manager that you're going to go into these games and perform. That's what we want to do. We want to make it really, really difficult for teams to play against us. I'm really excited again about coming to Celtic Park and seeing the game tomorrow evening.”

Rodgers and his players were savaged by supporters and the media when they were thrashed 7-1 by Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion – but they put that painful reverse behind them with a 0-0 draw against Europa League champions Atalanta away in Italy and then defeated Leipzig 3-1 at home.

The Northern Irishman, who has no injury concerns in the wake of the 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday evening, argued the humiliation his men suffered in North Rhine-Westphalia was important to their development.
“We know that we're going to have to suffer at times, but that's the level,” he said.
“It's something that you have to experience. That's key, that failure is a part of the journey.

“I said at the time, and it was probably looked at a bit funny, but it can be that trampoline effect. It can bounce you back even higher. But it's how you deal with it which is important.
“So dealing with the setback that we had that night, you can see where it's trampolined the players. It bounced them forward. So it's all in how you react to the difficult moments. So this team have shown that and proven that and I believe there's still a lot more to come.”