Manager: Our performance was very good from the start

Brendan Rodgers was impressed with his team’s performance in today’s League Cup clash with Hibernian at Celtic Park. The Hoops cruised to a 3-1 victory to book their place in the quarter-final of the competition, where they will face another home tie, this time against Falkirk. Speaking to Celtic TV after the match, the Celtic manager said: “I thought it was a very good performance. “We started the game ever so well, with the tempo and speed we wanted. We got the goals early on and then we continued in that manner. ‘Over the course of the game, the speed of our play, the attacking moments, we looked very good and we played very well.’ “We weren’t troubled too much. Every throw in was coming in to the box and deep free-kicks were coming in to the box, but I thought we dealt with that well.”Daizen Maeda was given the task of playing as Celtic’s lone striker, and he stole the show at Celtic Park, with his two first-half goals setting the tone for the match. Speaking about the impact of the Japanese forward on today’s match, Brendan Rodgers said: “I have absolutely no doubt that he can play there. I’ve seen a lot of him with Celtic and with Japan. “His two goals today were very good, getting to the first post which we want our strikers to do and running in behind which we want them to do. They’re two very good goals.” The Celts will face Falkirk at Celtic Park in the last eight of the League Cup, and Brendan Rodgers says he is looking forward to the challenge of facing John McGlynn’s side. “It doesn’t mater who you get, you want to be at home,” he said. “But I’m also glad to be able to see John McGlynn. He was a great staff member for me when I was here first time. “It’ll be a tough game for us because they’re coming with confidence, but we’ll be ready by the time that game comes.”