Brendan Rodgers has challenged his Celtic side to write their names into the history books by breaking a long-standing scoring record at Celtic Park.
With one home game remaining this season, the Hoops have already hit 61 goals in league matches at Parkhead. The target is now to surpass the 62-goal benchmark set under Martin O’Neill during the 2003/04 campaign—a side that featured the likes of Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton at their peak.
Rodgers revealed he’s been motivating his players with various objectives beyond simply lifting silverware. One of those, he confirmed, is eclipsing that home scoring record on what will be Trophy Day in front of a full house at Paradise against St Mirren next Saturday.
He said: (RecordSport), “I’ve been setting many targets for them. Of course, going into this block of games, we had items that we wanted to achieve.
“I think there was a record number of goals at home, which was 62 in a league season, when Martin was here in 2003/04.
“So we’re now on 61, with one home game to go. So we’ll be hungry to make Trophy Day special, but I’ve also given them targets to achieve beyond winning the trophies, and so you see the hunger in the team in order to achieve those.”
Rodgers’ message has clearly landed with his squad, who have shown a ruthless streak in recent weeks at home. Celtic’s attacking options have stepped uo, with Nicolas Kuhn growing in influence, Adam Idah providing a physical presence up top, and Daizen Maeda consistently brilliant throughout the season.
Coming from 1-0 down to score three goals against a strong Hibernian side showed that the Irishman has his players fully motivated to finish the season in style. The fight and quality they showed that day will be needed again when they take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
With one home game left, Rodgers wants to finish the season on a high in front of the Celtic fans. Scoring two or more goals on Trophy Day would break the record and make this team part of the Hoops’ history.
