Rodgers hails Celtic fight but admits team still a work in progress

Glasgow - Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said he was delighted with his players after the team sealed its place in the Champions League third qualifying round with a 3-0 victory over Gibraltar part-timers Lincoln Red Imps on Wednesday.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg following arguably the team's worst ever defeat, the Scottish champion turned the tie around thanks to three goals in six first half minutes from Mikael Lustig, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts to secure a 3-1 aggregate win.

The result helped make amends for last week's humiliating defeat in Gibraltar against a side that contained just five full-time professionals alongside a customs officer, fireman, a policeman and taxi driver in what was Rodgers' first competitive game in charge of the Hoops.

And the former Liverpool boss insists he's happy with the steady improvement of his players.

"As I said last week - and I know it might have sounded strange after losing the game - I've been delighted with the players since I walked in," the Celtic manager said. "They've had to take in a lot in terms of training and I can see each day they're getting better in their fitness and technical approach to the game.

"They've played a number of different structures already within pre-season which tells me they're coping well with what I'm giving them.

"It certainly wasn't perfect - there's a way to go for us in terms of where I want us to be ... But certainly I think there's some fluency and structural things within the team that were very pleasing.

"It's just going to come through time. That cohesion within the team will get better once the fitness comes. As I say they're not perfect but they're doing everything they can to improve and that's something that's really pleasing at this stage."

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