Brendan Rodgers has challenged Celtic to take their game to the next level against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
On a run of nine straight victories in all competitions, the Scottish champions face their biggest test of the campaign so far against last season’s beaten finalists.
But they will head into the 80,000-capacity Signal Iduna Park without Cameron Carter-Vickers after the influential central defender succumbed to a toe injury.
After ten years without a victory in Europe’s elite competition, Celtic have now won their last two – against Slovan Bratislava last month and Feyenoord last December – and Rodgers has urged his players to show they are ready to step it up against the continent’s best teams.
‘For us, it’s looking to bring our game to the next level,’ said the Celtic boss.
‘I think how we’ve been performing, over probably the last six, seven months, has just been increasing.
Rodgers admits players will have to take their game to another level against Dortmund
Celtic have been hampered by an injury to top defender Carter-Vickers, who misses out
The Scottish champions will expect a top performance from record signing Arne Engels
‘Now we’ve come to this level and we’re under no illusions. We’re playing against a team that are challenging at the very top end of elite football.
‘Whether it’s domestically, or whether it’s away in this competition, it’s (about) making us a really difficult team to play against – with and without the ball.
‘I’m not looking for perfection, I’m just looking for us to be really, really difficult to play against and give everything we have.
‘It’s the second of eight games. Whatever happens after this game, we’ll arrive back into the changing room and I still know that I’ve got a very good team, (one) that’s still got a lot of progression to make – but what a great test for us.
‘I’m very relaxed, but focused on (getting) a result that can build on the first game’s result.’
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Celtic will have to do so without Carter-Vickers, who missed much of last season’s Champions League campaign through injury. History now threatens to repeat itself after the US international failed to travel with the squad.
New £5million signing Auston Trusty deputised in Sunday’s 6-0 win over St Johnstone and will hold the fort while Carter-Vickers recovers.
‘Clearly he (Carter Vickers) is a top class player for us,’ said Rodgers. ‘He’s missed a little bit of Champions League football in his time.
Five of the 12 games that the club has played, he’s unfortunately not been able to play in. But, yes, we’ve got other players.
It’s always an opportunity for someone else to come in and hopefully we can get Cam back sooner rather than later.
‘But we can’t overthink it. We will rely on a collective. There’s not one player that brings our results and how we’ve been this season.
Of course, he’s a very important player. But, for us to get a result tomorrow evening, it will be by the collective.
‘This level is as much about the head as it is about skill. Bringing that quality that we show domestically and being able to take it out into this amazing arena and playing with that confidence. And, if we can do that, we can be a really difficult team to play against tomorrow night.’