As the Scottish Champions prepare to kick off their defence of the Scottish Premiership title against Kilmarnock on Sunday afternoon, Brendan Rodgers says that his message to the players remains the same as always ahead of the upcoming season. Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s match against Kilmarnock, the Celtic manager said that despite the success of last season’s double-winning campaign, his side are as focused as ever on delivering further success to the club. “When you’re at a club like Celtic, there’s special challenges every game,” he said. “It doesn’t lessen just because you’ve had a successful season. ‘For us, it’s the same idea. Our objective is to win every domestic trophy.’ “We’re also in an exciting Champions League format, so we’ll look to get in to the play-off stage of that. “But alongside that, I’ll be looking at the football performance, the consistency of that.”The Hoops enjoyed a successful pre-season trip to the USA where they defeated DC United, Manchester City and Chelsea, scoring 12 goals across those three games, and the Celtic manager has revealed that it has been the best build-up to a new campaign that he has had as a manager. With Derek McInnes’ side travelling to Celtic Park for Sunday’s match, Brendan Rodgers knows that the positive preparations his squad have gone through will be key as the champions look for the perfect start to the season. “Pre-season has gone as well as I could have hoped for,” he said. “It’s arguably one of the best pre-seasons I’ve ever had. “In terms of mentality, the work, the intensity and seeing the team grow. The players look sharp, fit and strong and we’re in a really good place. “There’s always a challenge with Derek’s teams, he’s a fantastic coach. ‘Every time we play against them, we have to be at our best and that’s what we aim to be at the weekend.’ “It’s a tough start for us, but we have to go and make that first step and make it a good step.” It was announced today that Lisbon Lion, Jim Craig, will be unfurling the league flag before Sunday’s match, an honour which the manager says is fitting for the Celtic legend. “Jim’s a club legend,” he said. “He carries himself like a legend does with class and integrity. I’ve known Jim around the club for a long time. It’ll be really nice for him and the family. “It’s a great way for us to symbolise the achievement of last season and begin the defence of this season. There’s no better guy to do that.”THE MANAGER’S FULL PRESS CONFERENCE Squad update Paulo Bernardo signing Kasper Schmeichel’s leadership Looking ahead to new Champions League format Targets for season 2024/25 Summer transfer window MATCH CENTRE Get live Celtic v Kilmarnock match updates from our official Match Centre – Visit the Match Centre
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