Brendan Rodgers knows the importance of winning a derby game, and he was delighted to do just that in the last domestic game before the international break.

And the Celtic manager also knows that his team has to follow up that 1-0 victory with another good performance and result this weekend when they play host to Dundee.

The Hoops squad, minus the players away on international duty are back on the training pitch, and that includes Reo Hatate, who has returned from injury, while new signing Nat Phillips could also be available for Saturday’s Premiership match.

Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV, Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s only a big win against Rangers if we beat Dundee, so our focus now is just getting ready for that.

“The supporters will be feeling a lot better about themselves than they did in our last game at home against St Johnstone, but what I would say is that there was a game when I was here the first time that really crystalised everything in terms of the players and the improvement, and I think that was the Gibraltar game when we lost.

“For me, the St Johnstone game will be that. I’m pretty sure I’ll look back at the end of the season and that game crystalised some of the items we needed to be better at, within the game, within the structure, within the mentality, and then we were obviously able to then go on and get a very good result.

'Reo’s back training with the squad, which is great news.'

"His energy’s been really good, he’s worked really hard since he picked up that injury at Aberdeen. So I’m really pleased that he’s back.'

“Nat Phillips is also training with the squad, so hopefully he’ll be available for the weekend. Cameron will probably be more early October before he’s back but he’s out on the grass and working well.

"Marco Tilio is back in with the squad and training, although it’s going to take him a little bit of time to get up to speed, but the squad’s looking healthier and as we go forward hopefully the return of more of these players will be really good for us.”

Celtic have taken 10 points out of a possible 12 from their opening four Premiership games, and the three points collected at Ibrox were important, particularly given the importance of the fixture.

“Psychologically it was a great victory for us, firstly for the players” said the Celtic manager.

“They’re understanding and getting to know me because most of them have not worked with me before, so when you get a big game like that then, psychologically, that helps.

'They won’t play in too many more stadiums where the atmosphere will be like that for them, but we showed we could cope.'

“In the first-half we kept the ball really well, we looked dangerous when we had it, going forward, and had a couple of opportunities to score.

"Then, what happens when you’re away from home, you’re under pressure and they showed they could stand up to that and keep a clean sheet.

“Going forward, I don’t think that we’ll be in a position like that again where we’ll have so many injuries, but the guys who performed on the day, and the squad, did absolutely brilliant.

“So I was really pleased with many aspects and also knowing that, going forward, we will become better and better as the season grows.”

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Celtic TV exclusive interview with Brendan Rodgers