Brendan Rodgers: Celtic want to be a last-16 side every year

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and his captain Scott Brown in training ahead of the Champions League match in Monchengladbach. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

The Scottish champions’ prospects of retaining the chance of progress to the last 16 of this season’s competition go on the line tonight when they face Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany.

Defeat for Celtic, coupled with Manchester City taking at least a point from the other Group C fixture against  Barcelona, would formally eliminate Rodgers’ side with two games remaining.

But having already succeeded in his primary objective as Celtic manager by leading the club back into the lucrative group stage for the first time in three years, Rodgers is already looking towards reaching  the knockout phase becoming the rule rather than the  exception.

In their 15 previous Champions League campaigns, Celtic have only made it to the last 16 three times – twice under  Gordon Strachan (2007, 2008) and most recently under Neil Lennon four seasons ago.

But despite recognition of the difficulties Celtic face against clubs with massively superior financial resources, Rodgers believes a regular presence in the business end of the Champions League must be their target.

“I would hope Celtic can become a last-16 team consistently within the next three years,” said Rodgers. “That was the aim for me in coming here, it was to really build the club and that is to qualify for the Champions League, get out of group stages and see how far we can go there. “We have to have that ambition. I’ve come here to be realistic, of course, and know the superpowers we are competing against.

“But it shouldn’t stop our ambition to want to be the very best that we can be. That is the standard that I need to drive and I want to drive the club in every aspect on and off the field. We have to strive to get there. In order for that, there is a lot of work to do.

“You want the club to be as successful as it possibly can be. There has to be the sense of reality as well. For what we are competing against throughout Europe, then of course just arriving in the Champions League is a measure of success. That is success for a Scottish team to do that.

“But when you are in there, it’s then about the next goal. That is something that’s important to me for the club, that we never stand still. You have to be pushing to be the best you can be.”

Rodgers will be forced into a significant defensive reshuffle tonight as he attempts to keep Celtic’s European ambitions alive this season against a Borussia side who impressed in their 2-0 win at Parkhead two weeks ago.

Central defenders Jozo Simunovic and Kolo Toure both remained at home because of fitness issues, while striker Leigh Griffiths also misses out because of a virus.