The Albany Gazette - Celtic fuelled by Dortmund embarrassment: Rodgers

The Scottish champions slumped to a dismal 7-1 defeat in Dortmund in October as critics claimed they didn't deserve to be in Europe's elite club competition.

But Rodgers' side have defied the doubts with a solid draw at Atalanta and a 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in Glasgow.

The Dortmund humiliation is Celtic's only defeat in all competitions this season and Rodgers has been impressed with his players' response to that setback.

"We want to make it really difficult for teams to play against us and we know that we're going to have to suffer at times, but that's the level," he said.

"Failure is a part of the journey. And I said it at the time and I was probably looked at a bit funny, but it can be that trampoline effect and 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 and bounced them forward.

"It's all in how you react to the difficult moments. This team have shown that and proven that and I believe there's still a lot more to come."

Celtic sit 15th in the new-look Champions League table after four games, but a win over Brugge at Parkhead would be a significant step towards earning a play-off place in their bid to reach the last 16.

Warning his team not to underestimate the Belgian side, Rodgers said: "Teams like Club Brugge are not teams that are probably spoken about a lot, maybe in the same echelons of some of these other big names.

"But these are teams that you cannot underestimate. They're very experienced at the level.

"They've got some fantastic players, a very good coach who's stepped up and taken them and works them very, very well. So we have to be mindful of that."

(W.Walker--TAG)