CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has shed light on the team’s tactical flexibility and various systems they’ve been practising ahead of the new season.
He has emphasised the importance of an aggressive press, control of the ball, and creating opportunities as constants, regardless of the system in place.
When Ange Postecoglou was in charge of Celtic, the team played a vert unique style of football, with inverted full-backs, high pressing forwards with fast-paced attacks. Brendan Rodgers has a more possession-based, slower-tempo, style of play.
However, it will be interesting to see what tactical tweaks he makes. In pre-season, we did see Greg Taylor playing inverted at some times, a role he played very well under Ange.
Rodgers said on Celtic TV, “Throughout my coaching career, I’ve always had a philosophy in terms of how I want the teams to play. In terms of style and philosophy, that’s always the same – imposing yourself in the game, being really aggressive in your press and shortening the pitch, and of course, dominating the ball and creating opportunities. But what I’ve tended to do is move and change our systems and have that flexibility.”
He also emphasised the importance of adaptability in his squad, saying, “I like my players to be able to do that. The team is in a really good place. Ange did a fantastic job here for a couple of seasons, and he’ll do very well in the Premier League. For me, it was the case of coming in, assessing where it was at, and then in certain phases of the game, looking to add something new that’s different for opponents to think about.”
This insight into Rodgers’ coaching philosophy and flexible tactical approach, highlighting his focus on adaptability and innovation in the team’s game plan, hints that Celtic are going to be an unpredictable opponent this year, and teams are going to struggle in their game plan against the champions.
