Former Celtic star Alan Stubbs fears Brendan Rodgers‘ judgment was clouded in the lead-up to his side’s demolition job at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
The Scouser reckons detractors of the Irishman will view him as naive, however, Stubbs can’t repress his doubts over the risk behind going gung-ho and being ripped apart by the Champions League finalists. Rodgers offered an impassioned defence of his tactics to a fanbase who dared to believe their wretched away record in UEFA’s marquee competition was about to become a thing of the past.
Speaking to BestBettingSites.com, Stubbs said: “It all depends on how you look at it. There will be certain people who will say, ‘Well done for sticking to your principles and what you want to do.’ There will be others saying it’s naive. The SPFL and the Champions League are completely different ball games and when you’re coming up against a team that are recent finalists, the quality is going to be at a level that you’ve not played against.
“Celtic were completely opened up on the night and they were given a hammering by a very talented Dortmund team. I don’t know how beneficial it is for the players to take a hammering like that in terms of confidence, despite Brendan’s recent comments saying that is an experience his players will benefit from.”
Stubbs has been buoyed by the domestic dominance, however, he believes the former Leicester and Liverpool boss potentially had his judgement clouded in the wake of the dominant 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava. Stubbs added: “Celtic have been fantastic in the league, regularly blowing teams away. Some of their football has been really, really good.
“They’ve looked on a completely different level to the other teams in Scotland and are a cut above the rest. I don’t think that any of the teams in Scotland can live with their pace, and how quickly they move the ball.
“The Champions League is a totally different level. I think Brendan may have had his judgment clouded after Celtic’s very impressive result against Slovan Bratislava at home on the opening night. Celtic were excellent that night, but there’s a difference between playing Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park and Borussia Dortmund.
“To go to Dortmund and still try to play that style of football against a team that is so quick on the counter, with better players – Celtic were completely undone.”