Brendan Rodgers has Celtic endgame in mind as he ditches winter training camp so squad can reset

11 games in 38 days. It sounds all right if you say it quickly enough.

But having given it due time and consideration, this is the lung-bursting stretch of the season Brendan Rodgers believes will make or break his first campaign back in the Parkhead hotseat. It begins today at home to Motherwell, includes various stop-offs away to Lazio, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Dundee and St Mirren, and also involves a festive meet-and-greet with Old Firm rivals Rangers on December 30.

And one way or another, when it’s all over Rodgers will go for a lie down in a darkened room – while allowing his players to kick back and enjoy some much-needed rest and recovery with their families as he has dumped the traditional warm winter training camp. When contemplating the fixture pile-up he’s about to confront, Rodgers said: “It’s the period coming up that sets you up for the end. There’s a busy schedule of games between now and January 2 which I’m really excited by and looking forward to.

“We’ve won 11 out of 13 games in the league this season and travelled to some really, really difficult places. That was especially difficult when we were still finding our feet at the beginning of the season.

“But now we’re starting to find rhythm and speed and tempo in our game and confidence too. So starting this weekend, it’s the start of a number of big games for us. And I’m really excited by it.”

In an ideal world, at least as far as the Celtic manager is concerned, his team could be 11 points clear by the close of business today, so long as they take care of a Motherwell side that has been in a recent steep decline.

With eight more league games to come in the space of these next hectic five weeks, Rodgers hopes to make that gap even greater before