BRENDAN RODGERS has urged Celtic to dig deep and fight their way through a grueling fixture list.
Due to UEFA’s change in the format of club competitions, the group stages of the Champions League and Europa League will run until the end of January.
And due to increasing pressure on the domestic playing calendar, the SPFL has canceled the winter break in January.
Celtic now face a maximum of 24 games in 82 days if they progress in Europe and the Scottish Cup.
And despite Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Dundee United at Tannadice, Rodgers believes his team have the courage needed to get results when they are not at their best.
Brendan Rodgers has urged Celtic to prepare for the busy festive fixtures
Celtic drew 0-0 with Dundee United at Tannadice this weekend
‘There is no winter break this year and that is what I liked about Schots
football,” the Celtic boss said. “It used to be great to have that break.
‘It’s still great here, but we don’t have that rest period now. March is the next break for the players and we just have to keep going.
“We have to stay focused and the boys have been brilliant in that respect.
‘We would all like to play 90 minutes of high-intensity football in 60 matches
season. But that is not humanly possible. Sometimes you just have to get the wins and more often than not this team has done that.
‘We didn’t succeed on Sunday but we took our stand and now we move on to Motherwell.
‘It’s a busy period in the football calendar and we now need to recover quickly between matches.’
A match is played every three and a half days. The series starts with home games against Motherwell and St. Johnstone, before a trip to Ibrox for the New Year’s match against Rangers.
The Motherwell match marks Celtic’s first home game on Boxing Day since 2010.
‘I’m really looking forward to being home on Boxing Day.
“It’s a great place for us to play and we want to send the supporters home happy.
‘A lot of work goes into preparing for all the matches, but we are used to it now. That’s life at a big club when you’re a player and a manager. But look, we’ll enjoy it.’
Celtic are awaiting an injury update from winger Nicolas Kuhn
Pending an update on the injury to top scorer Nicolas Kuhn, Rodgers expects Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty to return for the match against Motherwell after missing the draw at Tannadice due to a flu virus.
“Cameron and Auston should be back. They did some work on the engine on Sunday and if all goes well they should be available.
“We have so many games and we’re going to need everyone.”
Assessed for damage to his knee, Kuhn’s extended absence would mean more playing time for Hyun-jun Yang and Luis Palma after James Forrest was ruled out for six weeks.
Neither player took the opportunity to impress against Dundee United, with Rodgers warning: ‘You’ve got to come in and run.
‘They have been out of the picture for a long time, but they train at a high level and come in and do their best.
“They work every day to feel good physically and then you just look for that piece of magic from one of them that can unlock a defense. But that’s the opportunity for these guys. We have so many games and we will need everyone.”