‘My joy was complete’ – Rodgers admits legend’s return was the icing on the cake.
Sum up that 90 minutes, if you can?
In the end, we succeeded. The scoreline gives the impression that it was more relaxed than it was. Though I must commend my players, we fell very short of our desired performance. There were some excellent individual performances among them, and it was truly amazing how the guys persevered till the very end. It’s fantastic to see Daizen (Maeda) get his hattrick. A large portion of our imaginative play occurred on the right side, with Daizen completing it on the left. A huge thank you to Livingston, since they have had a challenging season. They came here, put on a tremendous challenge that we had to meet head-on, scored a few goals, and made it really difficult for us.
Is it difficult to keep answering the same questions about how you get to that next level, about how you make it a bit easier for yourself in games like this?
I know what it is. If you’re missing key players and the levels of players that we miss then the football won’t smile the same. Once we get those players back, then I’m pretty sure the performances will improve.
100 games for Maeda. First hat-trick as well. With key players missing, how important is his contributions, coming in and having a game like that?
It was excellent. He offers so much. He is pushing and making a contribution with his work rate and effort when the ball is in opposition, but it’s great for him to score as well. Runs that truly hurt teams, all instinctive. While it’s simple for players to get to their feet, he had to run and execute a series of maneuvers to reach his destination, which he executed with great skill.
Nicolas Kühn, was it a hamstring injury he came off with?
All he felt was a slight stiffness. Clearly, he hasn’t played a lot. That was excellent because it was more direct, more running, and more aggression—much more like what we would expect from him in the game. When James Forrest entered the game, my happiness was complete because it was admirable to watch how he received and handled the ball.
Gives you more food for thought?
Listen, James is the best winger we have, with the greatest respect. It’s just that intensity that we ask in the game in constant runs and constant pressure.
Can he get that back, or is it an age thing?
Regretfully, age catches up with all players, intensity, and people in general! He still has something to contribute, and you saw how good he is when he entered the game with 25 minutes remaining. He is a terrific player, and it was exciting to see him play. His work ethic and ball control were excellent.
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