Brendan Rodgers urges Celtic to stay calm as title race heats up
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has stressed the need for calm and focus as he predicted the title race would go down to the wire.
The cinch Premiership champions were seven points ahead of Rangers after both teams had played seven matches but the arrival of Philippe Clement has helped drag the Light Blues back into contention despite their defeat at Parkhead on December 30.
A 1-1 draw at Aberdeen on Saturday allowed Rangers to cut the gap to three points with a game in hand and Celtic could be travelling to Easter Road on Wednesday in second place after the Dons visit Ibrox 24 hours earlier.
Rodgers' main challengers in his two full seasons in Scotland first time around were Aberdeen and his debut campaign saw Celtic finish unbeaten domestically.
The situation is different now but the former Liverpool manager knows the process has to be the same.
"I never set out this season thinking you are going to win a league by 10 or 20 points," he said.
"You set out to be the very best you can be and meet the challenge that is in and around you.
"Clearly, the competition is there and it will be tight, I'm pretty sure, through to the end of the season.
"For us, it's just about really focusing on our own game and making sure we can have that consistency.
"We have the capacity to play well and win these big games but I think it demonstrates a wee bit about where the team is at and how young some of the team is because we haven't been able to string it together for longer periods.
"We have gone four or five games, six games, whatever, and then that killer instinct just goes a little bit.
"But, listen, we have won six of our last seven, we have drawn one. I know the rules up here in Glasgow, how it works.
"But the key is you just stay calm. I see the players train every day and I know we will have one or two players coming back and we will just continue to focus on that performance level."
Rodgers believes the pressure can bring out the best in his team.
"The expectation is one of the huge things here at Celtic, whether you are players or manager," he said.
"There's stronger leagues out there in Europe but when you play and manage Celtic, it's a real test of your mental fortitude as a person, dealing with expectation, dealing with pressure, and dealing with everything that comes with it.
"There's not too many teams around Europe where you'll have four points out of six and it's crisis mode again.
"But I always think, while it can feel like that, that's the catalyst where you can continually improve."
Rodgers has never won at Easter Road in four visits, losing twice and drawing twice, including a goalless encounter earlier this season.
"There's still such a long way to go," he said. "The finish line is not even in sight, you have just got to go game by game, keep working well, keep your focus, and then pressure really comes later, a lot later down the line.
"But at this point you focus on your performance and what you can control.
"We have dropped points this year and it's something that we need to be better at in this next part, but I don't worry about where we finish now, it's about going into the next game."
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