Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers praises players’ desire to get better amid exhausting run of games

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has praised his players’ desire to get better amid an exhausting run of games.

Rodgers has been delighted with the progress his squad has made since the last international break three weeks ago, despite having to play seven games during that period.

The Hoops reached the Betfred Cup final with a 1-0 victory over bitter rivals Rangers, played home and away Champions League matches against German side Borussia Monchengladbach and collected four straight Premiership victories over Motherwell, Ross County, Aberdeen and Inverness.

There is no let up when the runaway league leaders return to action at Kilmarnock on November 18 with European matches against Barcelona and Manchester City also on the horizon but the former Liverpool boss is thrilled with the direction his team is heading in.

Rodgers, whose side are ten points clear at the summit with a game in hand, said: “We wanted to start the season really well, we’ve done that but there are still elements we can improve – lots of areas we can improve and develop even more.

“I said after the last international break that we were coming into a real period of seven games up until now that were going to be tough – big challenges.

“The players have been absolutely outstanding in that period.

“I said at that time that they would improve and they’ve improved over those seven games – the message will be the same.

“A lot of them will go away and come back and we will look to develop and improve the team even further, and they’re hungry to do that.

“The squad believes in themselves and that’s through hard work, when you work as hard as they do and you stay as focussed as they do then that gives them confidence.

“When you play the game with confidence then you have a great chance to succeed.”