Rodgers urges Celts to dig deep through busy festive run of fixtures

BRENDAN RODGERS has urged Celtic to dig deep and grind their way through a gruelling schedule of games.

UEFA’s change to the format of club competitions sees the Champions League and Europa League group phase run until the end of January.

And, with increased pressure on the domestic fixtures calendar, the SPFL have scrapped the winter break in January.

Celtic now face a maximum of 24 games in 82 days if they progress in Europe and the Scottish Cup.

And despite Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Dundee United at Tannadice, Rodgers believes his team have the grit required to grind out results when they’re not at their best.

Celtic drew 0-0 with Dundee United at Tannadice at the weekend

‘There is no winter break this year and that is what I loved about Scottish

football,’ said the Celtic boss. ‘It used to be amazing to have that break.

‘It still is amazing here but we don’t have that rest period now. March is the next break for the players and we just need to keep grinding away.

‘We need to stay focused and the boys have been brilliant in that sense.

‘We would all love to play 90 minutes of high-intensity football in 60 games a

season. But that’s not humanly possible. Sometimes you just have to grind out the wins and more often than not, this team have done that.

‘We didn’t manage to do it on Sunday but took our point and now we move on to Motherwell.

‘It’s a busy period in the football calendar and we have to recover quickly between games now.’

Facing a game every three and a half days, the run starts with home games against Motherwell and St Johnstone before a trip to Ibrox for the New Year clash against Rangers.

The Motherwell game marks Celtic’s first home league game on Boxing Day since 2010.

‘I am really looking forward to being at home on Boxing Day.

‘It’s a great place for us to play and we want to send the supporters home happy.

‘A lot of work goes into getting ready for all the games but we are used to it now. That is life at a big club when you are a player and manager. But look, we will enjoy it.’

Celtic are awaiting an injury update on winger Nicolas Kuhn

Awaiting an injury update on top scorer Nicolas Kuhn, Rodgers expects Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty to return for the Motherwell game after they missed the draw at Tannadice with a flu bug.

‘Cameron and Auston should be back. They did some work on the bike on Sunday and all being well they should be available.

‘We have so many games and we will need everyone available.’

Assessed for damage to his knee, a prolonged absence for Kuhn would mean more game-time for Hyun-jun Yang and Luis Palma after James Forrest was ruled out for six weeks.

Neither player took the chance to impress against Dundee United, with Rodgers warning: ‘You need to come in and hit the ground running.

‘They have been out the picturefor a long time but they train to a level and they come in and do their best.

‘They work every day to allow them to feel physically good and then you are just looking for that bit of magic from one of them that can unlock a defence. But that’s the possibility for these guys. We have so many games and we will need everyone.’