Brendan Rodgers names what Celtic's Champions League target REALLY is as he makes 'readiness' confession

The Parkhead boss can't wait to square up against Slovan Bratislava under the lights in Glasgow's east end

Brendan Rodgers reckons he’s never been in a better place or more ready as a Celtic manager for the Champions League.

The Parkhead gaffer can’t wait for Wednesday's opener against Slovan Bratislava as he targets a spot in the play-offs. Rodgers goes into the curtain-raiser with his team in top form and also with a deep pool to pick from after squad strengthening before the close of the summer transfer window. It’s the boss’ fourth crack at the group stage - now revamped as the league phase - with Celtic.

During his first spell in charge, he had to go through qualifiers during and was then settling back into the role last term. But, as he assessed the situation now going back into the competition, Rodgers said: “There’s absolutely no doubt, this feels like the most ready I’ve been as a Celtic manager coming into a Champions League campaign.

“Naturally because of the qualification phase and the doubt around all of that and trying to get players in later on on the back of that. Last season coming in, trying to find out about players and managing them through that and then seeing them in the competition.

“But having had a year under my belt back here and seeing all the players and being able to improve a lot of the areas that I want, there’s still areas that we want to improve in, but certainly the readiness is a great word. That feeling of arriving at this first game will be the best place that probably I’ve been in since I’ve been here.”

Rodgers has set his side an initial target of the play-offs and victory over Bratislava would be the ideal way to get started. He continued: “Yeah, that would be great. That would be a great first step for us. As I said, there are eight brilliant games, intense games, great competition. So we of course clearly would want to do that.

“And obviously having back-to-back Champions League victories. We had our last game here at Feyenoord where we won and then to open up and win again would be a real good feeling and put everyone in a good mood and then we can carry that through into the other games.

“I think our intention firstly is to reach the play-off. I think if you look at the teams that go through then over the course of the eight games, I think you’re really looking to reach that play-off phase. That would certainly be the objective that I would set first and foremost and then from there you can then gauge it.

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