Brendan Rodgers has urged his Celtic players to go for the jugular tomorrow night against Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League, believing that a win is the next step for Celtic in the competition.

The Parkhead side restored their credibility following their chastening experience in the Nou Camp when they took a point from Manchester City, but Rodgers will now look to get the first victory of the campaign on board.

Rodgers has been enthused at the improvement he has overseen in his Celtic side over the last few months but when asked if delivering a victory in the group stage of the UEFA Champions league was the next step, he said:

“Absolutely –it is. And that was for me the only disappointment of the last one [against Manchester City]. I sat at the end of it and everybody was raving, but I wanted to win the game.

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“We were in the lead three times and there were two goals we shouldn’t have conceded, but that’s because we’re trying to raise the bar always. A win would work well for us.”

While satisfied with the early strides made so far in his tenure, Rodgers nevertheless believes there is still more to come from Celtic.

“My aim here is to build a team with power, with speed, high level of technical ability and unpredictability in their game, that scores goals, creates many chances and defends strongly,” he said. “I’ve a way to go in terms of that. We’ve made a great start with the players and the few additions we have, but there will come a point where – wherever we are and whatever jungle we are in in the world – we’ll be able to impose our style. And I’ll be happy to go to wherever it is and play our way.”

And Rodgers has lauded the Celtic players for the responsiveness to his methods, insisting that their lack of ego has facilitated the growth that he has seen over the last four months.

“In the modern footballer there is a lot of ego,” he said. “But this group have no ego, this group come in every day and we have set a standard from the first day in terms of training and what we expect on and off the field, and these guys are looking to deliver it.

“They might not always be at their best but they have given their best every single day, and I think that tells you where we are at. We have 28 players, a full batch available, and four goalkeepers, and they are all respecting that they will push one another every single day.

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“I have never had a bad word amongst them. The spirit is great, they really galvanise each other and today we had probably the best I have seen in terms of the type of session we were doing. That is great for me because it’s a consequence of coaching and development. It’s about improving players, that is what they are doing, and they will get better as the season goes on.

“I know what the supporters want here, so I know what it feels like. To have that is a huge honour for me.”