Celtic reaction: Brendan Rodgers says 'we won't do that', stark admission, fierce criticism from ex-manager

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admitted his players were ruthlessly punished for their mistakes in the 7-1 hammering by Dortmund, but says his team will not alter their footballing philosophy when playing against more illustrious opponents in the Champions League.

An open and high-pressing Celtic were put to the sword in devastating fashion by last season’s runners-up, with Karim Adeyemi scoring a hat-trick as Dortmund led 5-1 at the interval. The visitors were slack in possession and missed the influence of Cameron Carter-Vickers in defence, who was absent due to injury.

“We’re really disappointed with the result and performance-wise I don’t think I’ve been involved in a game where virtually every mistake we got was punished and that’s the highest level of modern football,” said Rodgers.

"We could have been better with the ball but going down 3-1 and 4-1 early seemed to spook us a little bit and we didn’t play with the same confidence and they were playing at a high level.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers watches on aghast from the touchline. | AFP via Getty Images

“The guys shows great spirit in the second half and we had more possession of the ball and took greater risk but ultimately we were beaten by a much better team. We will assess it and look back afterwards. We wanted to press the game but we wanted to be balanced and be tight and compact but too many times when we ran out of position top players punished us. We’ll look at that for the coming games.

“We got punished for giving the ball away. We needed longer spells with the game. We were too rushed. We know we have pace but we had to have the ball for longer periods and we looked for that killer pass too early in their half and you are constantly giving the ball away and chasing it and their frontline is so far, direct and they have real quality and punished us.”

When asked if big Champions League defeats will make him rethink his approach to such matches, Rodgers continued: “The big defeats have come against Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG … we always have to adapt but sometimes the quality breaks through that. Are we going to sit in and camp and wait? No, we won’t do that. We play a way that allows us to dominate domestically.

“We know it will be difficult to do that at times but we still have to show our ability with the ball and we were nowhere near that level. We gave it away too easily. We concede two penalties, from a corner they scored an unbelievable goal. That can affect your confidence but I was proud of the players second half. We’re disappointed and it’s the first time we’ve had that feeling for a long time and we have to learn from it.”

Meanwhile, former Celtic manager Neil Lennon was fiercely critical of Celtic’s performance. The Northern Irishman was working as a pundit for TNT Sports and did not hold back on his former club.

Celtic captain Callum McGregor grimaces after the team's humbling defeat by Dortmund. | Getty Images

“I didn't expect them to win,” said Lennon, who had two spells as Celtic manager. “I expected them to give a good account of themselves given the form they were in. They let the game get away from them. They were passive, far too passive with passing, didn't do the dirty business of the game well enough, weren't physical enough, too nice and they didn't turn Dortmund at all.

"They kept playing the same way. The results were the same - goal against, goal against, goal against. Eventually, when the game got to 3-1 I am expecting someone to get grip of the team and say 'OK, let's have 5-10 minutes in their half, let's get Maeda into it, let's turn them, let's get a corner or a throw' - there was none of that.

"They kept playing the same way - passes into dangerous areas and they kept getting picked off. Dortmund are an outstanding team but they have their flaws - particularly down the right hand side, but Celtic played right into their hands constantly. They have got to learn quickly. Celtic were exposed tonight. They have got to say 'we can't do this away from home against top teams, we have to find another way of playing at times.'"

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