Brendan Rodgers has nothing but praise for Falkirk boss John McGlynn but insists there’s no way his Celtic team will take them lightly in their Premier Sports Cup tie.

The cup holders enter the competition against last season’s Championship winners in a Friday night contest as the tournament heads into the knockout phase.

And Rodgers showed his appreciation of the work done by his opposite in achieving back-to-back promotions to the top flight.

“I’m so happy for him as a guy and his football,” he said. “I think what John has demonstrated in his time since he’s gone back into management is that talent and technique will always override power.

“Unless you have the resources and the money to get power, technique and talent then it’s sometimes a difficult askespecially when you’re trying to play football

“I look at his teams at Raith and I look at what he’s done at Falkirk in bringing them up. You see how they play and you see the attitude, the energy they have in the game and the technical qualities they have.

“He deserves all the accolades he gets been absolutely fantastic and they’ve demonstrated that game idea and how they want to play.

“They have an inherent belief in that football philosophy, which has allowed Falkirk to get promoted for the first time in years.

“For us we don’t underestimate them.  We’ll be ready for them and from the first whistle to be really aggressive in the game.”

Bairns boss McGlynn says organisation is the key as they return to Celtic Park on League Cup business, almost a year after losing there 5-2 in the quarter finals in a game where they acquitted themselves well.

“They’re always going to go and attack and attack and attack so with the intensity of the game and the tempo it can become relentless,” he said.

“We’ve got to make sure that we are very well organised. We are going to have to be nice, bright and sharp with them without the ball.

“The ball can come back into play very quickly at a certain part. Whether it’s a goal kick, a throw in, or you know, set play. They’re doing things quickly and they try to you catch out.

“So, we cannot turn our back on anything. We’ve got to be so switched on. And if we can do that and have a good shape about us.  If we can stay in the game then you know we can cause one or two problems.

Friday’s tie between Celtic and Falkirk will be shown live on Premier Sports, kick off 7:45pm.