Celtic's Brendan Rodgers refuses to dwell on setbacks, anticipates future triumphs after Japanese defeat

Brendan Rodgers sought to focus on the positives following Celtic's 6-4 loss to Yokohama F. Marinos during their pre-season tour in Japan.

Daizen Maeda, a former Yokohama player, made a triumphant return to the Nissan Stadium by scoring three goals in the first half, allowing the Premiership champions to take a 3-2 lead at halftime.

But Hoops midfielder David Turnbull managed to salvage some pride with a late goal, although it was no more than a consolation. The J.League champions, who are currently halfway through their league campaign, showcased their dominance by netting an impressive six goals. This relentless assault on the scoreboard saw Anderson Lopes (scoring twice), Kota Mizunuma, Yuki Saneto, and Ryo Miyaichi (scoring twice) all contributing to the team's resounding victory. Notably, the match featured several substitutions, adding to the overall excitement and intensity.

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Brendan Rodgers returned to the club last month

Rodgers, who recently made a comeback as the Celtic boss, mentioned on the club's official website that they had encountered a challenging schedule due to their quick arrival.

He acknowledged the strength of the team, stating that they were nearing the completion of three-quarters of their season.

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"It perfectly met our requirements in terms of the fitness levels we need to achieve, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in that area. We had two games played privately, and each match showed an improvement in performance levels.

At this stage, we must not lose sight of our main focus. We cannot rely solely on results; instead, we need to concentrate on improving our fitness. It was evident that Yokohama had a slight advantage in terms of sharpness."

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Daizen Maeda, a Celtic player, scored three goals in the first half of the game.

"We will eventually reach that point, but for now, our main focus is on improving our physical strength which will progress in the upcoming weeks. Our priority was primarily on enhancing our fitness, and we will definitely see advantages from it."

The team executed the strategy of penetrating the space behind the opponents to lure them out and then counter attack effectively. However, there were instances when they were indecisive with the ball, resulting in a delay in passing.

"That's what pre-season is for. It's for flushing out all of those mistakes and building your fitness up, and we can build through that over the course of pre-season."

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David Turnbull scored in the Japan friendly

Celtic will be traveling to Osaka for the last match of their Japan tour, where they will face Gamba Osaka on Saturday. Manager Rodgers is expected to make some personnel changes. He explained that their intention was to push certain players, resulting in visible signs of fatigue in their legs by the time they were substituted at the 65-minute mark.

"We had to push through that and by the weekend, we will revert back to two 45-minute sessions due to the heat and other factors. This will enable us to regain our physical well-being in the upcoming weeks following this trip."

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