Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Not Embarrassed By 1-0 Loss To Lincoln Red Imps

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers stated there was “no embarrassment” in losing 1-0 to Gibraltar part-timers Lincoln Red Imps in his first competitive game in charge of the Scottish Premiership club in Gibraltar on Tuesday.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Not Embarrassed By 1-0 Loss

Lee Casciaro, a police officer, scored the only goal in Tuesday’s first-leg Champions League qualifier in the 47th minute.

The Imps also included a fireman, a customs officer and a taxi driver.

“I’m not really [shocked]. I know these results can happen,” said Rodgers, the former Liverpool boss who took over from Ronny Deila in May. “We stay calm. We need a performance next week.”

Celtic will welcome the champions of Gibraltar to Glasgow next Wednesday for the second leg of their second qualifying round tie.

“We dominated and had enough chances, but sometimes it can happen like that… one ball up the pitch and they’re in,” said the 43-year-old Rodgers.

“You let the local team have their night, we press on, another week’s training and be better for it.

“We’ve given ourselves a bit of work to do, but there’s no panic. It’s a two-legged affair and our objective is to get through.”

The manager’s message to Celtic fans, over 300 of whom were in the tiny stadium that was not full to its 2,000 capacity, was to “stay calm.”

Lincoln Red Imps’ captain, customs officer Roy Chipolina, stood behind his comments earlier in the week when he said victory over Celtic would be the biggest shock in European football.

“When you look at the history of both clubs, nothing has changed,” he said. “Celtic are still a massive club and they are still favourites in the tie, but I don’t think anyone expected us to be going over to Glasgow with a 1-0 lead.

“We will be going over there more confident than we thought and, if miracles can happen again, we will knock Celtic out of the Champions League.”

Casciaro added that his team benefited from the artificial turf, weather conditions and the fact that they have been training for almost two months.

“The manager set us up to get them on the counter attack,” he said. “It was really, really a dream for us, to score and win 1-0 against the mighty Celtic.

“Just walking out and have Celtic supporters singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, and it’s a historic pitch, we have to enjoy ourselves this doesn’t happen very often for us. We’ve only been in Uefa last three years.”

Rodgers led Liverpool from 2012 to 2015. Prior to that, he managed Swansea City and Reading, for whom he also played from 1990 to 1993.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – MAY 23: Celtic unveil their new manager, Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park, Glasgow on May 23, 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)