Celtic meet Feyenoord in their final Champions League game of the season tonight at Parkhead.
Brendan Rodgers has been left chuckling in a Dutch interview ahead of Celtic’s Champions League finale – but it came loaded with a harsh dose of reality.
It’s been a miserable run at Europe’s top table for the Scottish Premiership champions, who face exiting at the group stage for the second straight season without a win. They have taken on Atletico Madrid and Lazio alongside the Dutch kings but while they already know bottom place is where they will end up in Group E, they are playing for approximately £2.4million in prize money and two coefficient points.
Ahead of the game, Rodgers was interviewed by Dutch outlet RTL Nieuews, where the interviewer asked him if he understood a Dutch saying that translates to “too big for napkin, too small for table cloth”. The Celtic boss burst into laughter with a straight “no” before it was cleared up that a club like Celtic is always in-between. Rodgers calmly replied: “It’s a challenge. This a hugely historic club, like Feyenoord.
“This is a club that worldwide has an incredible fanbase but Celtic football now is very much about the financial side and we sadly don’t have the finances that allows us to be super competitive. But we always have to try to find a way and our way will always be with the football we play, development of players, and with our ambition as a team to improve.”
Rodgers also confirmed changes are afoot for tonight’s game and knows how many he is going to make. He added: “We have to through the injuries we have, we have to protect some players. It’s an opportunity for some players to come in and get some game time.”
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