Last season saw the Celts win an historic double of the league and the Scottish Cup. However, for Brendan Rodgers and his team, this season provides an opportunity to go one better and clinch all three domestic honours.

The winner of this Sunday’s match will book their place at Hampden for the semi-final of the League Cup, and for the Celtic boss, it’s a trophy that holds a special place in his heart.

“The competition is very important to me,” he said. “It was the first one that I won as Celtic manager, so it means everything to me, so we’ll be going all out on Sunday to get to the semi-final.

“We have to win three games to win the competition. I always think it’s about getting to Hampden and then we assess it from there.

“Hampden is a place I’ve always loved with the size of the pitch and the support that we take there.

“We have a really important job at the weekend that we have to get done and our objective is to fight for every domestic trophy.”

At the helm in the away dugout on Sunday will be former Celtic coach, John McGlynn, whose Falkirk side are on an impressive 43-game unbeaten league run which has extended from last season.

Looking ahead to the prospect of coming up against his former colleague, Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for the Falkirk manager as he reflected on their relationship throughout the years.

He said: “I have a lot of time for John. We’ve exchanged messages and I’m really looking forward to seeing him. I’m really proud of him and what he’s done in his career. He’s done brilliantly and he’s a really good guy.

“When I first came in here, we brought in a structure, a way of working and a mentality that he was a part of.

“John always went the extra mile for me. He knew there was a big demand and he was a real team player.

“What he’s produced in the two jobs he’s had since he left here has been brilliant. The style of football and the way he looks to play have been very impressive.”

THE MANAGER’S FULL PRESS CONFERENCE

Reflections on Wednesday's UCL opener
The winning mentality of the team
Build up to Sunday's match against Falkirk
Relationship with John McGlynn
Unbeaten runs
Domestic ambitions
Daizen Maeda's workrate
Importance of squad depth
Squad update

MATCH CENTRE

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Manager: Wednesday night was outstanding and now we want to get to Hampden