Brendan Rodgers may well give Daizen Maeda a break against Dundee United at Parkhead today so the on-form Japanese winger is rested for the rematch with Bayern Munich over in Germany on Tuesday night.
But the Celtic manager has stressed to his other squad members that there are “no holidays” at the Scottish champions and emphasised they have to perform to their maximum every time they take to the field regardless of how much they have played.
Callum McGregor and his team mates will attempt to increase their lead over Rangers – who take on Hearts at Tynecastle tomorrow - at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 16 points with a win over third-placed United today.
It is asking a lot of them so soon after their physically and mentally draining Champions League knockout round play-off match against Bayern in the East End of Glasgow on Wednesday night.
But Celtic are chasing a world record ninth domestic treble this season and still have designs on the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition despite the 2-1 loss they suffered in midweek.
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Rodgers, who will be without Paulo Bernardo after the Portuguese midfielder was ruled out for “four to five” weeks with an ankle injury, will not accept any excuses for a below par display.
"Every game is a different scenario,” he said. “We were expected to win against Raith last week and we should win. But we have to perform. Every game is important here. The players understand that.
"If they don't initially, they soon will do. Obviously it's my job to drive that and lead that. I know as well as anyone that every game, whether it's Raith, Bayern Munich or Dundee United, is a big game here. We're always mindful of that and the players are as well.
"The schedule has been unrelenting for us for a long period now. Go back and look at the games we played in September and October. But it's been ramped up in November and December and up to now. It's been a real unrelenting schedule, but the players have been brilliant.
"There's been nothing other than focus. We had the Dundee game (at Dens Park last month) at the back of seven games in 21 days when we just weren't quite there in terms of our pressing. But we took a point, we moved on and we learned. We're ready. You have to be.”
Rodgers added: “That's what being at a big club is like. I said to Arne Engels when he came in at the beginning that his one game a week holiday that he had at Augsburg was finished, that he was coming into a big club where there's no holidays. He now knows what I was talking about.
"Being a top player is about managing fatigue, managing the tiredness. Because you have to deliver. And that's what it takes to be at a big club. Otherwise, you go and play one game a week somewhere else and it's quite nice."
Rodgers, who was pleased to see long-term absentee James Forrest back out on the training field at Lennoxtown yesterday, will have no qualms about leaving Maeda out of his starting line-up today given how well Yang Hyn-jun performed after coming on against Bayern.
“He has done really well,” he said. “He is looking strong, he is improving. He came on and gave us that energy. The Champions League is an arena where you need your squad. The level of physicality required is so big that you need those players who can come on and impact the game for you and I think he did that really well.
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“He is obviously still a young player who is adapting to the culture, the game here and the size of the club. But he has made a valuable contribution for us this season. There are players ahead of him, but when he has been asked to play he has done well.
“He wants to improve his numbers and you can see in the last few games he is starting to affect games more. But he is a good guy who has developed really well. We can definitely see improvement.
“You can see the strengths in his game. For him it is about efficiency. As a Celtic winger, you are going to get lots of opportunities to score and to create goals and that is where you will get judged. But what he also does is he presses the game and works very, very hard and I like that side to him.”
