Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has praised the work rate of his players since the start of the season, saying that it is their pressing game that has pleased him most during their impressive opening to the campaign.
Rodgers finally saw the players grasp what was fully required of them under his watch towards the end of last term, and the champions seemed to have stepped up a level again as they have opened their title defence with three straight wins, scoring nine goals and conceding none in their three league matches to date.
When asked what aspect of the way his team is performing has satisfied him most, Rodgers replied: “Pressing. I always say that passing the ball and pressing are like twins. When you press the game well, you pass the game well.
“Probably in the first six months of last season we weren't doing either so well with enough consistency. That started to pick up in the second part of the season, and then really that last three months of the season then tagged on to our pre-season.
“Now, if you look at us with three shots against us in three games. That tells you how hard the team is pressing and working together and that elevates the football.
“So, I always say our mantra here is respect the 30 percent because that's the most important bit, the bit when you don't have the ball, how aggressive you are.
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“That was where it was nice last week when Steven [Robinson] talked after the [St Mirren] game about how he changed his team and probably wanted to go physical and set pieces and everything. But we've done all the dirty side of the game, and the top players do that. They do the dirty side.
“Some people call it the easy [side], it's not the stuff that gets noticed a lot on the stands. But it's absolutely key from a coaching perspective and a player's perspective.
“So, that pressing side, the aggression, the compactness of the team, that all then brings the football to another level. That's been the most pleasing part.”
