Brendan Rodgers maintaining philosophy after Celtic 7-1 Dortmund UCL humiliation
01/10/2024
uefa24
Dortmund Brackel Training Ground, Dortmund, Germany
01/10/2024
uefa24
Dortmund Brackel Training Ground, Dortmund, Germany
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hi, good evening. We'll just kick off the conference, please, with questions. BBC first. Thank you.
00:10Brendan, how difficult a night was that for you, watching that?
00:16Yeah, it was a tough watch, to be honest. We weren't quite at our best and they showed why they're a top, top team.
00:27We didn't make the start that we wanted. I don't think I've been involved in a game where I felt that every single mistake that we made got punished.
00:42And that's the level. Any misplaced pass or moment that they had, it just seemed to end up in the back of the net.
00:49And on the other side, we had a couple of moments in the second half and it didn't quite fall for us.
00:56So, yeah, I think at this level, especially away from home against a top team, you need to be at your highest level.
01:05And we weren't that, and they were. You could see the level and quality that they have.
01:13You mentioned mistakes. You mentioned mistakes there. Most unlike you, I think it's fair to say.
01:20What was the issue there? Why were there so many, do you think?
01:23Yeah, I don't know. I think that's the learning that comes away from this level.
01:27I think that we might have got spooked a little bit early on, I felt. We get into one each, good.
01:33We were unfortunate that the toe poke goes through and then the guy gets the penalty, put the 1-0 up.
01:39We get the equaliser, but then very, very quickly we're 2-1 behind.
01:44They get a foothold in the game, start to move it well, and we start to chase it a little bit.
01:50So it was a mixture of our positioning, but also our quality and our passing.
01:59Whether I was short or we just made the right pass or not, the touch wasn't quite right.
02:05We just didn't play a good game technically, either.
02:11I know it's hindsight, but is there anything that you would have done differently,
02:17having watched the match and seen the performance? Would you have done anything differently at the start?
02:23No, not really. We went in high in confidence, the team's been playing ever so well.
02:30We felt we were in a really good place, but I think we needed to start the game much better than we did.
02:38We gave away cheap goals and, like I say, we analysed the game back.
02:45There were certainly issues positionally that we would have to be better in.
02:50But, like I say, we got punished for passes and loose bits of play,
02:56which at this level, like you've seen tonight, they will punish you.
03:00It was absolutely ruthless in the finishing, it was absolutely incredible to see.
03:05Unfortunately for us, we were on the back of it.
03:10Is this a reminder of the levels you need to get to, where you want the team to be?
03:21It's very, very difficult for us to get to that level.
03:26It's a different level, with the greatest respect.
03:32But what we'd want to be is more competitive than we were tonight.
03:36That was what was disappointing from our perspective.
03:39But I thought the second half, the guys showed a really good spirit.
03:42We were much braver on the ball, a bit more cleaner with our pass,
03:45and got into some much better areas, had the ball for longer periods.
03:49The first half, we were too rushed.
03:52We know we've got speed in the top end of the field, but we just gave it away too early.
03:58You do that against good players, then you're chasing the ball.
04:02But the level is, it's always a learning process.
04:05Like you say, for us, we've seen tonight the very highest level of the European game.
04:15For us, we get punished, but we will learn from it for sure.
04:19Does it at all make you reassess the approach when you do come away from home
04:24against the bigger teams, and how much you do go toe-to-toe with them?
04:28I didn't think we were going toe-to-toe with them.
04:31I think there's certain moments whenever we can press the game.
04:34From a static position, we're there to press it.
04:39Of course, then when you're in that mid-pitch, I just felt that we needed to be tighter.
04:45At times our positioning was a little bit too open,
04:51and you've just got to really tighten the game, or else they play through you.
04:54That's what they did.
04:55Once they're in and turned, then that speed and power that they have at the very highest level,
05:00then you see where it takes them.
05:02In moments, we were pressing the game.
05:08In moments, we're in, but we needed to be tighter and more compact in certain moments,
05:14which let them get through.
05:15They get two penalties in the first half,
05:20and then they score an absolute worldie from the young guy outside the box,
05:27or the one he nicks off Dejan inside and finishes with an unbelievable finish.
05:32Then Dejan has a touch a little bit loose, and then he fires it in.
05:37Before you know it, you're 4-1 down.
05:39That's just sheer quality.
05:43There's nothing positioning in that.
05:45That's what I said earlier, just getting punished for mistakes that you wouldn't normally,
05:50but with a very, very elite player, you make that slight mistake, boom, you get punished.
06:02Yeah, I can hear you, it's OK.
06:04Obviously it's the first defeat in a long time, but it's a heavy one.
06:07How do you make sure that it doesn't scar the players, it doesn't linger in their mind,
06:10especially when you come back to this competition in a couple of weeks' time,
06:13because this competition is so important for you and for the club?
06:16Yeah, listen, we knew that over eight games is what we wanted to achieve,
06:22but we also knew that these opening games away from home
06:25was going to be a real high-opener for us and a real challenge for us.
06:28So no-one within the players and the management and coaching staff felt any different.
06:34We knew it was going to be a big challenge.
06:36Obviously our form coming into it was absolutely fantastic,
06:39and we would have wanted to be in much better this evening.
06:43But that's my job.
06:45My job is now to go away and inspire the players again,
06:49and like I say, we analyse, and you need to learn from it,
06:53or else you can really get punished at this level.
06:57But this is a fantastic group of players that will do that,
07:01they're very conscientious, and we'll look at it and see where we can be better.
07:07Brendan, did the result and performance surprise you tonight,
07:10or did you see this coming in some ways?
07:12Do you think it was always possible that a team like Dortmund could do this?
07:16It's always possible, just because of the level.
07:24We came into it with great optimism, and that's what you want to have,
07:28but we're obviously in the notion as well that we're playing against top, top players,
07:33and I think you see that this evening at the top of the game,
07:36and it can really punish you.
07:39But like I said, we have to take it on the chin.
07:43The players have been brilliant over a long period of time now.
07:47We had a really good start in the competition,
07:50so we've got three points on the board tonight,
07:53the best team won by a long way,
07:55and we can learn from it and get going again at the weekend.
08:00Brendan, you mentioned the team being spooked by the early goals,
08:04it did look that way.
08:06Is that something you can work on?
08:08Because you need to have composure in places like this,
08:11and maybe at Atalanta as well.
08:13Yeah, absolutely.
08:14Atalanta will be a different game, it's a more man-to-man game,
08:17so you have to be really strong in your duel and be able to work the ball.
08:24But yeah, tonight, surprisingly we weren't so...
08:31have that assurance with the ball,
08:33and that authority that we'd normally have,
08:35and maybe come from the quick goals that we conceded.
08:39But it's the level.
08:41If you want to compete at this level,
08:44then we would have to be better with and without the ball.
08:49Is there a broader point, Brendan,
08:51about the big step you have to make between what you face domestically
08:54and facing something like that?
08:56Because the reality is you could make those mistakes in a game at home
08:59and it wouldn't happen to you.
09:01That's got to be difficult for the players, isn't it?
09:03Listen, it's a fair point.
09:05It is because you're just not coming up against that level.
09:11But as I said before, I don't think I've been involved in a game
09:14where it just felt that every misplaced pass or just a slight error
09:19ended up with a goal.
09:21It was absolutely ruthless finishing.
09:24And when you see that level,
09:26you know what it takes to really push on.
09:30But for us, listen, we operate in the league that we're in.
09:34We have to be the best that we can be in that.
09:37That then qualifies us to come into this stage.
09:41And that's where we want to be.
09:43And nights like tonight are hard.
09:46They can be tough, but it can happen.
09:49So we have to learn from it and, like I say, move on.
09:54OK, thank you.
09:56Cheers, guys.