BRENDAN RODGERS watched Celtic wrestle their Europa League hopes back into their own hands against Rosenborg then turned his attention to the Betfred Cup final against Aberdeen on Sunday.
Scott Sinclair’s first-half header in the Lerkendal Stadium gave the Hoops a 1-0 win and set them up for a last-day showdown against Salzburg at Parkhead next month.
A point against the Austrian outfit, who qualified by making it five wins out of five with a 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig, will be enough for the Scottish champions to secure European football after Christmas.
However, the Hoops boss is already preparing to defend the Betfred Cup trophy against the Dons on their return to Glasgow.
Rodgers said: “We love playing at Hampden, the pitch suits us. It’s a big pitch and we couldn’t be going into the game in a better way.
“Going into a League Cup final, I would say this is the best level of performance – probably because we have been together longer and won trophies.
“We will prepare for a tough game of course, but our aim is to win. Our preparation starts straightaway.
“In the morning, the players will be in the pool and some of the others will be doing some work. That’s our first day of recovery really.
“The staff will get together and finalise our preparation first thing in the morning, travel back and then Saturday we will just round it all up and get ready for the game.
“It’s something the players are used to. We are used to playing a lot of games and going deep in competitions and it’s nothing new.
“Every game is a big game for Celtic and of course it was big last night.
“But you know we want to win every game we play, so it’s my job to relax the mind and focus on our performance. It’s the same idea for the weekend.”
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