Brendan Rodgers wants Bayern hurt in Celtic Park cauldron as footballing royalty won't get the red carpet treatment

Brendan Rodgers insists he wants footballing royalty Bayern Munich to hurt in the cauldron of Celtic Park.

The Parkhead boss knows the reputation of Glasgow’s East End. He knows the anticipation of visiting teams to taste the arena. It might be on some Euro bucket-lists, but Rodgers isn’t interested in it being some box-ticking exercise for opposition. The atmosphere never changes, but outcomes have since the manager’s return.

Since agonisingly losing in injury-time to Lazio last term, Celtic are now six games without defeat at home in the Champions League with four wins. Rodgers’ teams and the fans have unified to make it painful for opponents recently and that combination makes him feel like anything is possible. The boss said: “It’s not just a tick-box exercise for players to come and say they’ve played at Celtic Park. You want them to hurt in this arena as well and you want them to find the challenges of that combination between the supporters and the players on the pitch, making it a really, really, really difficult night.

“Bayern Munich are one of the giants of the European game. They really are football royalty in terms of what they’ve achieved over many, many years at this level.

“So for us to be in a position where we can challenge them, it’s a great marker for us. I know with our game that we mix up the basics, all our running power and physicality, which is something that we’ve really improved on at this level.

“I think if we can do that with the energy and the support behind us then anything is possible in the game. I go back to the Young Boys’ game here. I thought when it could have got a little bit nervy in the last 15 minutes, the supporters were amazing.

“They sensed it, and they really got behind the