Brendan Rodgers wants a three-peat after Celtic make history - 7M sport

Brendan Rodgers wants a three-peat after Celtic make history



Posted Sunday, May 20, 2018 by PA

Brendan Rodgers wants a three-peat after Celtic make history

Brendan Rodgers will crack the whip to ensure Celtic follow up their historic double treble with further domestic domination.

The Hoops boss has achieved a feat that escaped Jock Stein and Sir Alex Ferguson after leading his side to back-to-back clean sweeps.

The William Hill Scottish Cup was added to this year’s haul after a masterful 2-0 win over Motherwell at Hampden as the Parkhead men backed up their Ladbrokes Premiership and Betfred Cup triumphs.

But while the Northern Irishman was full of praise for his players, he warned they can think again if they are looking for an easy ride next term.

Rodgers insists he will expect more of them now as he guards against the complacency that might scuttle their next mission – making it three trebles in a row.

“I certainly need to push them even harder next season,” said the Celtic boss. “I think we can be better. We need to get better again. We dropped too many points this year.

“There’s lots for us to push for next season. We enter every competition to win and that will be the aim next season.

“When you have the success we had last year, it would have been so easy to have gone soft, gone timid, not had the same aggression.

Brendan Rodgers wants a three-peat after Celtic make history
The victorious Celtic squad lap up their double treble triumph (Steve Welsh/PA)

“For teams like us, it’s not the punches to the head and body that stop you, it’s the pats on the back.

“We can never be satisfied. We have to be hungry to succeed.”

If there were any nerves in the Parkhead ranks, Rodgers’ players never betrayed them as they neutered Well’s physical threat before creating the openings for victory.

Callum McGregor took advantage of Tom Aldred’s wayward clearing header to rifle home his side’s first goal on 11 minutes.

Brendan Rodgers wants a three-peat after Celtic make history
Celtic’s Olivier Ntcham celebrates scoring his side’s second goal (Jeff Holmes/PA)

And Olivier Ntcham finished off a fine team goal as he found the bottom corner with a little help from Cedric Kipre’s toe to put the seal on victory 14 minutes later.

“This is a day that will last forever,” added Rodgers. “I said before the game that there are not too many days in your life that you will wake up with a chance of creating history.

“There have been different eras during the great history of the game up here. But in all that time a double treble was never achieved.

“My satisfaction is for the club and the joy that it will give people tonight.”

Well did have their chances to put Celtic’s nerve to the test but Curtis Main blazed over before the break while Gael Bigirimana swept a late free-kick onto the bar.

But Fir Park boss Stephen Robinson admitted his team were simply outclassed by a stronger side.

He said: “I thought we lost the game in the first 20, 25 minutes, we didn’t go right against them as we planned to.

“Credit to McGregor for a wonderful strike and the second one takes a deflection. Maybe against lesser players if you sit off them you don’t get punished. Against Celtic you do.

Brendan Rodgers wants a three-peat after Celtic make history
Motherwell’s Stephen Robinson applauds the Steelmen’s supporters at full-time (Graham Stuart/PA)

“I couldn’t be prouder of my boys but their quality and the two strikes were the difference between the sides.”

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