CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers has made a plea to league chiefs for assistance in giving Scottish teams a better chance in European competitions, particularly the UEFA Champions League.

He emphasised the need for football federations to find ways to help their teams, as British football faces challenges in terms of fixture scheduling.

We see other countries help their teams, particularly in the qualifiers for competitions, by moving or postponing the weekend’s matches.

Rodgers pointed out that the scheduling of fixtures can have a significant impact on teams’ performance and recovery. And we’ve seen some injuries happen on the pitch because of the schedule. Maik Nawrocki pulled up in the dying seconds of the Kilmarnock game when there were nearly ten minutes of added time and Reo Hatate pulled up with another muscle problem during the opening stages of the Atletico Madrid match.

He mentioned that Celtic played a Champions League match on Wednesday and then had a domestic league match on the following Sunday, while their Champions League opponents, Atletico Madrid, played on the Saturday. The difference of 24 hours in recovery time can be substantial in football.

“The one thing I would always ask is if there’s ever a possibility (to help),” he said to the Herald.  

“It always seems to be a challenge in British football where federations can actually help the teams. If you look at us, we played last Wednesday here. We played on the Sunday and Atletico Madrid played on the Saturday and 24 hours is absolutely massive in football for recovery.

“We have got Dingwall on the Saturday then on a Tuesday in Madrid. If they can help in any way, can they help? That’s what I would say to give their teams a chance at the very highest level. We are travelling away to a top, top team and you go then with a disadvantage straight away in terms of physicality.”