CELTIC MANAGER BRENDAN Rodgers is calling for patience as the Scottish champions bid to avoid an embarrassing Champions League exit at the hands of Gibraltarian part-timers Lincoln Red Imps on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old Northern Irishman — who was a surprise high-profile choice to replace Norwegian predecessor Ronny Deila in May — will come under extreme pressure if Celtic don’t overcome the 1-0 deficit to the Imps.
However, the former Swansea and Liverpool manager — who took the latter in 2014 to within a hairsbreadth of their first league title since 1990 — believes his side can pull themselves together and progress from the qualifying second round.
“The message to the players is similar to the supporters, it is that first 20 minutes if we don’t score a goal then you have to be patient and for that you need the support,” said Rodgers, whose side warmed up for the second leg with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg in a friendly on Saturday.
“But thankfully, I understand the Celtic supporters, they understand the game, they know football and patience is something they have been accustomed to. You can be an attacking team but there are times when the ball can’t go forward, it has to be circulated.
“Our team will always be set up to create and score goals but if it doesn’t come the message is, they just have to be patient because you might take one hour or 70 minutes in any game before you break a team down and then you can score two, three, four, five goals in the last 20 minutes. So if the game is needing the patience then I am sure the Celtic supporters will support the team.”
Rodgers, who was eventually sacked by Liverpool in October last year after a poor start to the campaign, said he had doubts about two key midfielders for Wednesday’s clash. Israeli international Nir Bitton (hip flexor) and Norwegian international Stefan Johansen (ankle) are “probably unavailable” although both will undergo late fitness tests.
