Waching daily Sep 30 2018

The change in Brendan Rodgers continues. All those early ambitions of making Celtic an established last-16 Champions League team have long since been brushed under the carpet

A rancorous summer of transfer-related tumult fractured relationships within the club and ended with the Northern Irishman looking tired and enervated, rather like his team

Now, as the real tests start racking up in the consolation tournament of the Europa League, there is a fresh admission

Following Celtic's 7-1 thrashing at Paris Saint-Germain on Champions League duty last November, 14 months after again conceding seven in Barcelona, Rodgers cut a bullish figure

'We'll always analyse it and think we could have defended better, but do not start asking me to do something different,' he stated

Those were different times, though. Rodgers was almost untouchable. His Celtic side remained dominant in domestic terms

The empire is now a whole lot wobblier and so, it seems, is the firm adherence Rodgers has had to play on the front foot no matter the quality of the opposition

How the 45-year-old chooses to counteract the formidable challenge of Red Bull Salzburg on Thursday night remains to be seen, but he has reflected upon those hammerings of old along with his own particular role in them

His team cannot afford the psychological damage that would come from another demolition job

His reputation can barely afford it either. Whether a man on the retreat or someone simply confronting his idealism with a sense of realism, Rodgers is repositioning himself when it comes to Europe

'When we picked up the defeats, they were heavy defeats against top-quality opposition,' he said

'I can probably look at myself as well. I'm a very attack-minded coach, but the last thing I want to do is expose my players

'I always feel the confidence you can gain from going against these teams and still looking to play your game can work to your advantage, but maybe I have to look at it and quell that a little bit to ensure the players aren't exposed

'When you look at Paris, we actually started the game well but the sheer quality of the opponent gets them through you

'At Barcelona in the first year I was here, we were four down going into the last 30 minutes and that would have seemed like par for a game against them at that time, but we conceded late goals and it put a different slant on the game

'I think in terms of where we're at as a squad, playing against top opponents has proved really difficult for us

'Okay, this is a slightly lesser level in terms of opponent, but they are still going to be tough for us

'It's not that you sit back to defend and not attack. I've always said to the players that it's not about the possession - it's about dangerous possession

'That's something we'll really focus on - about our possession being dangerous, not always thinking you have to dominate the ball

'But we must ensure that when we do have the ball, we're dangerous with it.' Of course, it isn't only the Champions League that has been hurtful for Rodgers and Celtic

Back in February, they travelled to St Petersburg to meet Zenit in the last 32 of the Europa League, having carved out a 1-0 lead following an electrifying display at Celtic Park

He played the same team as the first game. They conceded in seven minutes and lost 3-0 - another sore experience

Asked if past defeats against European opposition, particularly those suffered against PSG and Barca, have been more psychologically detrimental to the players than he had imagined, Rodgers replied: 'Yeah, I think that's more what I'm looking at

'They've shown spells in the games,but there's the sheer quality when a misplaced pass is then put into a gap and it's a goal

'People talk about when we were away against PSG, but we were actually defending in a 5-4-1

It was their speed that got through us and we ended up conceding seven.' Rodgers does not believe that being soundly beaten by Red Bull Salzburg, already clear at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga and out to build on a fine 3-2 away win over RB Leipzig on matchday one, would have a negative effect on an already shaky domestic campaign

'I think the players are very stable,' he stated. 'The summer was complicated, for many different reasons, but I now sense it getting more back to our feeling and what we are about

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For more infomation >> Breaking News - Brendan Rodgers will rethink Celtic's approach to Salzburg - Duration: 5:23.

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Man Utd news: Jose Mourinho could be sacked THIS WEEK in wake of West Ham defeat - Duration: 3:02.

 United were beaten 3-1 by West Ham on Saturday leaving them with just 10 points from their opening seven Premier League games

 That represents the worst start to a season for the Red Devils since 1989-90 and Mourinho is under increasing pressure

 Reports have circulated of a falling out with Paul Pogba and the Frenchman was stripped of his captaincy role earlier this week

 Alexis Sanchez was then left out of the match-day squad for the trip to West Ham having failed to impress since his move from Arsenal in January

 And the Daily Mail now report that Manchester United staff believe Mourinho could be sacked by the end of this week

 It's claimed that the Portuguese boss's future was discussed on the way back to Manchester from London with Mourinho absent from the journey

 It's believed that United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is reluctant to sack Mourinho but a poor atmosphere around Old Trafford could change that

 That atmosphere was not helped by a Carabao Cup defeat to Derby in midweek with training ground photos showing more frosty confrontations between Pogba and Mourinho

 Zinedine Zidane is reportedly interested in the Manchester United job should Mourinho exit with some claiming that the former Real Madrid boss is already learning English

 And Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand says Woodward must act now. "I think there are some big decisions to be made at Manchester United now," he said on BT Sport

 "I think from the hierarchy, from the people who run the club, the likes of Ed Woodward, I'm sure there are going to be conversations at that level about where they go from here

 "At the moment there doesn't seem to be that togetherness within that changing room

 "The manager, the squad, how they're going to take this club forward. There has to be improvements

 "I believe that the powers that be at this football club have a decision to make

 "I think you can't let a situation like this just continue through the season. "Things leaking out in the press, little wars going on in the changing rooms that's creeping out and everyone's finding out about it

 "So someone's got to make a decision right now, bang - this is what happens."