Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says Hearts won't have Murrayfield advantage in League Cup semi-final
Friday 26 October 2018 14:41, UK
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes Hearts will not have an on-field advantage when they play in the Scottish League Cup semi-final at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Craig Levein's side previously played four home games at Murrayfield when their stadium, Tynecastle, was being upgraded last season.
However, Rodgers believes this does not give them the upper hand as the occasion is "unique".
"I think my point before the last game was to have an opportunity to have been there and train at the stadium," said Rodgers. "Both teams will have done that, they have played there a little bit more, but it is a unique occasion.
"My experience up here of being in the semi-finals have been brilliant, the atmosphere and we have been able to make the final which has been great.
"I think it's going to be a really good occasion, at a beautiful and iconic stadium, playing at Murrayfield, the place will be packed.
"It will have a fantastic atmosphere and like we always do we will try to impose our game and play as well as we can."
Rodgers has won two Scottish League Cups, beating Aberdeen and Motherwell back to back in his first two seasons with Celtic.
Winning silverware as soon as November can be a catalyst for teams to go on to more success as seen with Celtic during the 2017-18 season when they won an unprecedented double treble.
Speaking about whether he is just as hungry as he was when he first came through the door at Parkhead in 2016, Rodgers said: "Listen when you work at the top clubs there is only one standard and that's winning and that is what you are judged by.
"There are lots of things now in the modern game where people get judged on social media websites, Twitter feeds and all this sort of stuff.
"The real standard for the big clubs is what you put in the trophy cabinets. That's what comes from the pitch into there. So for us, the standard here is winning so we are there to win and to do it in a way that entertains our supporters.
"This season we have been getting towards that in the last couple of games and domestically we have been very good.
"It will be a tough game at the weekend but we aim to keep with that quality in the semi-final."
