Hot on the heels of a testing, not to mention contentious, episode at Easter Road on Saturday, Celtic welcome Aberdeen to the East end of Glasgow tomorrow night (Tuesday) in the next instalment of 2024/25 SPFL action. The last visit of the Pittodrie side to Celtic Park, albeit when the opposition were in their first flush of success this term, resulted in a 2-2 draw, and those goals back in October, are still the only goals scored against the Hoops in the league here at home this season. The Celts will be aiming to ensure that those two goals are still the only league goals lost at Celtic Park this season so far come the end of Tuesday’s meeting, and Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to his team’s defensive record going into this game. The manager said: “Pressing for me is everything. That’s the start point and that’s where everything else comes from. ‘Our ability to press the game from the top of the field is key in our work, and that defensive record is a great credit to the team.’ “People will look at the back four and goalkeeper naturally of course, because they are those last points of our defence as such. “But our pressing and defensive mentality – that is the foundation for us to play the football that we want to play. “And obviously at home on that day we conceded two disappointing goals, but other than that I can’t really complain.” Aberdeen’s fantastic start under Jimmy Thelin waned as the months passed, but now, after a few decent results of late, they look to have turned another corner. Brendan Rodgers said: “We expect a tough game, Celtic v Aberdeen are always good games. We’ve obviously played well in them this season. “Jimmy’s team got off to a brilliant start – and then the highs and lows of football for a difficult period – but he’s been able to look and see because obviously again in that early five for six months in the building, he’ll be looking at the internal culture of the club and the training ground, and how that looks. “And then he’s been able to freshen that up in January and bring in his sort of profile of players that can make his system maybe work even better. “So they’ve picked up in the last few games and I expect a really tough game, and that’s what we’ve prepared for.”Following the blip at Easter Road on Saturday, the emphasis in now on business as usual as the Celts take another step towards the end of the season. The manager added: “It’s the professionalism and focus which is very important. We obviously need to bounce back from the weekend. “The weekend was another opportunity for us to show that you’re not quite on it, and then teams can hurt you. “But it’s also a great measure of how focused and professional the team have been. We’ve had very few slip-ups over the course of the season, but we did at the weekend. “We’re hungry to respond now tomorrow evening, and it’s at this time of the season when you’ve really got to narrow in your focus into your performance, into your recovery, into your preparation and just focus on the next game.” Watch the full video to hear the manager on The Hibs game That chalked off ‘goal’ Philippe Clement Dealing with pressure Injuries More on the game Alistair Johnston: We’re prepared for Aberdeen visit –
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