Brendan Rodgers sees Champions League lightning strike twice as Celtic ‘magician’ would find it tough following Ange

The Irishman has his side unbeaten at the top of the Scottish Premiership at the first international break.

Brendan Rodgers has been told he’s replicating the success of his first spell at Celtic this time round, but that lightning has struck twice in the Champions League.

The Irishman has guided his Hoops to the top of the table at the checkpoint of the first international break, with the bragging rights of winning the first derby against rivals Rangers balanced out by an early exit in the Viaplay Cup to Kilmarnock. The returning Celtic boss nailed his colours to the mast on making a fist of it in Europe’s top competition, but so far the Champions League scoreboard reads zero points for his squad after two defeats to Feyenoord and most recently Lazio at home.

And for former Hoops captain Paul Lambert, it’s a case of a recurring theme with the Hoops on the continent. But the former Champions League winner believes Rodgers has the hallmarks of a manager to improve the majorly successful state of affairs Ange Postecoglou left the club in when he upped sticks for Tottenham in the summer.

He told the Official Celtic podcast: “After Ange did what he did in the last two years, you could have brought in anybody – Brendan or even a magician – and they all would have found it tough to follow Ange. It was a great coup getting Brendan because he knows how to win here, and what Celtic is about.

“All he had to do was change one or two things which he has done, to get the best out of them as Ange had. The start of the league has been great, Europe we say it every year they’re not too far away from doing it. You need that result at home, you need that. What Brendan has done here in the short time is replicate what he did the first time.”