BRENDAN RODGERS has opened up on his horror start to life managing Celtic when the Hoops crashed to defeat against Lincoln Red Imps.
The Parkhead outfit lost out against the Gilbraltar side during a Champions League qualifying first-leg tie.
Rodgers side would end up coming out the other side in the return fixture as they qualified for the group stages, but the current Leicester boss has revealed his worries after his first competitive match in charge.
He told Coaches Voice: "The club was in a winning cycle, I knew that. But my idea was to make them win better. To bring in an idea and a philosophy of football that excited the supporters, regenerated the club and its enthusiasm.
"The idea wasn't that we would start with defeat in Gibraltar.
"I'd not long come in to work with the players. I had really enjoyed pre-season, but this – a Champions League qualifier against Lincoln Red Imps – was going to be my first real chance to see them under pressure.
"We were playing on an astroturf pitch, where you very rarely get a good game of football. It was 38 degrees.
"Within 100 yards to our right, there was the Rock of Gibraltar. Within 1,000 yards to our left, we had Monarch Airlines flying behind the goal. All the conditions you wouldn't want for your first game, were there.
"And we lost 1-0. That can happen in football. It can happen.
"I did a press conference the very next morning, in which I said we would win the second leg. But I could see, even in a game such as this, that there was cause for concern in how the players were dealing with those pressure moments.
"In modern football, managers get virtually no time. Your first steps are vitally important, and I knew we had to produce in the players a mental fitness that would get us into the Champions League. We didn't have time to work with the football idea.
"I had to find a mindset to get us through, and thankfully we did that. It was great for the club to be back in the Champions League again, to bring the big nights to Celtic Park."
Rodgers also revealed his love for "special" derby fixtures against Rangers, especially his first, where his side ran out 5-1 winners at Celtic Park.
He continued: "I've managed in a number of derbies. They're all different in their way, but in Glasgow it's something else. There is something special about Celtic-Rangers. The intensity, the rivalry. It is a city divided between green and blue.
"Only one team can be doing well, and you've got to make sure it's you.
"My first Old Firm game was the first meeting of Celtic and Rangers at Parkhead for four years. Joey Barton had joined Rangers, so he added another interesting dynamic to an already huge game. But we were desperate to win for the supporters, and to keep that early-season momentum going.
"To win, and to win 5-1, was obviously very special. It was an important game, absolutely massive, and put us on a great high."
The big fixtures kept on coming for Celtic and on the Champions League group stage tests against Europe's elite, Rodgers continued: "If, on that Saturday evening, you had asked us to name the last place on earth we would want to have to play on the Tuesday, we would have said the Nou Camp in Barcelona.
"Messi. Suarez. Neymar. And the pitch is huge.
"The energy that had been taken out of us on the Saturday had a huge impact on the Tuesday night. And, you know, I think I could sense there was a little bit of fear in the team, perhaps naturally, because of the players they were up against.
"That would change as the season went on.
"We didn't start the game well, that was for sure. Messi scored early, but we fought back well and missed a penalty that would have drawn us level. They got the second before half-time, but then fatigue set in after the break and it ended up 7-0.
"You come off after seven, and it's not nice. We spoke about it afterwards, though, in the changing room. If we're going to be the team we want to be, this can't happen again. We were going to have to learn."
Celtic went on to land the domestic treble during the 2016/17 season amid an unbeaten campaign.
Rodgers added: "It ended up being an incredible season. Momentum grew, we developed how we played, and time on the training field was vital. We grew in confidence, enjoyed the way we were working and got some really big performances in big games.
"To go through the whole domestic season unbeaten was truly memorable.
"Remember, too, that five of the six games we played after our Champions League fixtures were away from home. No matter who you play, those can be banana skins.
"But the players were focused, concentrated, and their desire to succeed was immense. Thirty-four league wins was incredible, although we conceded late equalisers in all four of the games we drew. Arguably, we should have won them, too.
"Where can we go from that? In terms of achievement, it's difficult. Domestically, we can't improve on much – but we will do our very best to win every game and every competition. In Europe, we want to be more consistent, and of course become regulars in the Champions League.
"And I just want to embrace it all. To feel happiness at being at such an iconic club.
"There's pressure there. It's not going away. But you want the pressure. If you want to be successful, it's always there.
"Your job is to redirect the flow."
