Brendan Rodgers slaps down Celtic Champions League narrative as bullish boss bins record people 'cry about'

Bullish Brendan Rodgers insists the "narrative" around Slovan Bratislava does not make Celtic's Champions League opener any easier.

And he insists Celtic deserved more from their last Champions League campaign as the boss came out swinging before the first game of the revamped league phase on Wednesday. The Scottish Premiership kings go into the clash against the Slovakian champions as heavy favourites - with Vladimir Weiss' men the lowest-ranked side in the 36-team format having navigated the play-off rounds to join Europe's elite.

But speaking ahead of the Hoops' first game of the new-look competition Rodgers was keen to stress the danger the visitors pose. Quizzed if going into the opener as favourites changed the mindset for Celtic, he responded: "Not really. I think it's normal. We come into every game and respect the opponent. Obviously there will be a narrative around this game, which I totally get, but I look at Bratislava and they have had four ties and eight games to get to this stage. So they have put in a massive amount of work and fight to reach this level."

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