Brendan Rodgers excited to see Celtic take on 'acid test' against Borussia Dortmund

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers wants his side to step up to “the next level” as they take on what he admits will be a test against Borussia Dortmund.

After thumping Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in their opening Champions League game, the Premiership leaders have travelled to Germany to take on last season’s finalists.

Celtic have been in imperious domestic form, winning all six of their league games without conceding a goal and netting 20 along the way. Dortmund present a far tougher challenge than anything the team have faced so far and when asked if the game was ‘an acid test’ for his in-form side, Rodgers didn’t disagree.

“I think this level is about as much about the head as it is about the skill,” he said. “I don’t doubt that with this team.”

The manager said he was looking forward to seeing how his side performed, saying that he wasn’t looking for perfection but progress, and for his players to show that they can step up again after improving since the end of last season.

“For us, it’s looking to bring our game to the next level,” he said. “The way we’ve been performing over the past six or seven months has just been increasing and we come to this level.

“We’re under no illusions that we’re coming up against a team that’s challenging at the very top end of elite football but for us I’ve always said that it’s about making us a really, really difficult team to play against, with and without the ball.

“That’s what we’re aiming to do. I’m not looking for perfection. I’m just looking for us to be really, really difficult to play against and give everything that we have.

“And to bring our game, which is to press, to fight, to run. We know at times that quality drives you back and it’s about having resilience in those moments.

“We also know that we have a game that can hurt teams with our football and our speed. So I’m really excited about seeing that.”

Rodgers sees Dortmund as “a top side with top players” and highlighted their offensive game as being particularly impressive but says his own team are in good shape and have put in the work to improve their standing on the biggest stage.

“I think we’re in a great place,” he said. “Tracking back to pre-season and the games we played there.

“We built our season up, played some big teams and we were able to look at certain aspects of how we want to play at this level.

“I was very, very pleased with what I’ve seen and it’s continued all the way soon.

“To come to here, it’s a great opportunity for us.”