Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has urged his players to improve on their performance after they just about sneaked into the round of 32 stage of the Europa League.

The Hoops appeared destined to bow out of the competition after trailing 2-0 to Salzburg at Parkhead heading into stoppage time but their blushes were saved after Rosenborg equalised dramatically in the other game at RB Leipzig.

Celtic star Emilio Izaguirre has said that he expects to come back strong over the next few months in order to capture the Player of the Year award he won last season.

The 25-year-old full-back suffered a serious injury recently and has been out of the first team action for quite a while now.

However, speaking on his return from first-team action, the defender has said that he expects the title to be his once he returns to form. In the absence of Emilio Izaguirre, players like Gary Hooper and Scott Brown have become the favourites of the crowd.

Celtic have recently claimed that they do not require the presence of their long standing rivals Rangers in order to be successful.

This comes as a retaliation to comment’s made my Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, who claimed that the survival of Rangers was crucial for not only Celtic, but the whole of Scottish football to prosper.

Celtic’s rivals Rangers have been plunged into administration, with £8 million being unpaid in tax since Craig Whyte took over the club in May.

Celtic managed to get a narrow 1-0 victory over Rangers, which propelled them to the top of the Scottish Premier League table. Rangers have been dominate since the start of the season, but have started to slip of late.

Victor Wanyama hopes he will be given the chance to prove himself in the forthcoming Old Firm match.

The Celtic midfielder was forced to watch on from the bench when his side went down 4-2 at Ibrox in September, but now he hopes his manager Neil Lennon will give him the green light to get involved.

It would be nice to play because I didn’t get off the bench last time. It’s the kind of game every player wants to play in,” he said.

“I think the fans have shown very good support to us and myself. They are always behind us and I am very happy to have fans like that.”