The star that shines brightly atop of the entrance to Celtic Park shines as a permanent reminder of the heights that Celtic have scaled.

Sitting in illustrious homage to the achievements of the Lisbon Lions in 1967, Rodgers has insisted that he would not be in the dug-out at the club had it not been for the achievements of Jock Stein’s side 50 years ago.

It is fitting, then, that Rodgers should seek to take the initial footsteps on a journey that he quietly hopes will lead to a domestic Treble against the club where Celtic’s most successful manager embarked on his playing career.

Read more: No Treble yell from us, insists Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers

Stein played for Rovers between 1942 and 1950 before going on to write the prestigious chapters of Celtic’s story when he moved into his coaching career.

As the club prepare a multitude of events to mark the anniversary of becoming the first British club to win the European Cup, putting a team on the park that celebrates the values which Stein imparted to Celtic is something that remains uppermost in Rodgers’ mind.

“We have to defend the traditions of Celtic as a club. It has always been an attacking club – you go back to Big Jock and what he created here,” said Rodgers. “Our job is to entertain and win.

“My philosophy is non-negotiable; we attack. How can we be better for the second half of the season? We can defend better, be more aggressive in that. Why? In order to create more chances.

“That is what we’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks, being more aggressive in our pressing. It’s about phases of improvement, for the team and for individuals. Gradually, they will get better and better.

“I went to a commemorative night [for Lisbon] just before Christmas and it was a great occasion in the Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park. When you think about what that team achieved….I saw some stuff I’d never seen before. It was an incredible feat from a Scottish team full of players from in and around Glasgow.

“They won five trophies that season, playing 60-odd games, a fabulous achievement and I took that back and shared it with our players. The will the Lions had to keep going, to keep fighting; it was sensational, really.

Read more: No Treble yell from us, insists Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers

“John Clark is here on a daily basis, of course, so I see him all the time and Bobby Lennox occasionally. I sat next to Stevie Chalmers that evening and I’ve met Billy McNeill from time to time.

“They are the reason I’m here – I’m here because of them, the guys who created this great history. The star at the top of the stadium is down to what they did.”

Ironically, Celtic are within two games of matching the record set by the Lisbon Lions of 26 games unbeaten at the start of a season, but will Rodgers is keen to oversee a swashbuckling Celtic side, he won’t be overly hung-up on the pressure that can come from searching through the history books.

“I have not thought of it,” he insisted. “You read up on it but it is the next game. I said at the beginning of the season that our appetite and desire to create history is important.

“Celtic is a winning club and winning in the best possible way you can. Sometimes players, especially if they are protected around a big club, just do enough to win.

“For us, from my first day here, it is promoting the philosophy that you win in the best way you can, that you break as many records as you can and win as well as you can. You fight and defend the culture of the club and all these aspects come into it.

“But I never drown under all the stats and what it means. For me it is about preparing the team for the next game, as boring and unromantic as that is. That is the job.”

Meanwhile, Rodgers has insisted that Celtic will be as meticulous with their preparations for Sunday’s game as they were with any of their Champions League meetings.

Rodgers took his side for a sunshine training camp in Dubai but he has insisted that there will be no easing up now that the second half of the campaign has come into sharp focus.

Read more: No Treble yell from us, insists Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers

Asked what the difference in preparation for Barcelona and Albion Rovers was, Rodgers said: “Exactly the same, every game is studied to the umpteenth degree. The minute you don’t is when you have an issue, you become loose and soft and that’s when you suffer.

“The minute we knew they were our next opponents we afforded them the same respect as Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach. We’ve looked at all the details this week.

“I know they are seventh in League One so they play in the same division as Alloa, who we’ve already faced and we experienced a tough game against them. They’re well organised, play a 4-2-3-1, they’re quite direct, play off a second ball so another game we must ensure we approach with the same level of concentration as the others we’ve played this season.

“No matter the league in which they play, we must concentrate.”