Brendan Rodgers has hit out at a “cowardly” Celtic insider after suggestions the manager is the issue amid questions surrounding his future at the club.
Rodgers, who is in the final year of his current deal, has made no secret of his frustration at the club’s failure to improve the squad before they crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Kairat Almaty a fortnight ago.
He has spoken for the first time since the window closed and after a summer of turmoil, fans plan to protest against the board with a late entry to Sunday’s Premiership match at Kilmarnock, live on Sky Sports.
Sunday 14th September 2:30pm
Kick off 3:00pm
A story then appeared with a club insider reportedly accusing Rodgers of tearing the club apart as he tried to engineer his own departure.
Here is the best of what he had to say on an explosive day at Celtic’s Lennoxtown…
What does the future hold for him at Celtic
Brendan Rodgers returned to Cetic in June 2023
“I want Celtic to be the very best that it can be. My ambition is for the club, for our supporters, for the players.
“It’s not a personal thing for me. I can only do my very best to improve what it is we need to improve.
“Then, whatever situation I’m in, I will then look to be the very best that I can be. The first time I was here, I probably left because of that, but I won’t be doing that this time.
“Coming back to here I said I would do a minimum three years. I’ve been categoric in that and I will do that, minimum, unless I get told otherwise.
“I said that on my first day as well and then going beyond that, we hopefully can work something together.
“If not, we’ll shake hands and then we’ll move on, but until that moment comes I’ve given my life to Celtic. I want to continue with that and we will see where it takes us.
Do you need transfer assurances to stay?’
The Celtic fans want the board including chief exec Michael Nicholson (centre) and chairman Peter Lawwell (right) to resign
“Yes. I’ve got really good relationships with the working group here and that will continue to be the case.
“It’s important that communication is open because we all want what’s best for Celtic.
“If we can align all of that, then great. But if not, until my very last day here, I will give the very, very best and after the summer, I’m even more determined now to make a real success of this season.”
How did he feel about someone from the club briefing the media about him?
Rodgers is not impressed with a Celtic insider briefing the media about him
“My own feeling is it’s a cowardly action to go that route.
“I’ve always been open here, I’ve made it very clear my desires for Celtic. I think anyone here at the club will tell you from both my spells, all I ever want is the best for Celtic.
“Most players will have gained new contracts, most staff will have improved contracts. I feel that I’ve always wanted to improve and develop and continue that development and not stand still.
“I see the potential of the club so for someone to do that, of course, it disappoints but it doesn’t affect me. If anything, I only get an even greater determination to succeed here.
“Let’s be clear, if it’s come out to maybe where it’s supposedly come out, then it’s not great.
“The optics of it aren’t good, but I get on with my work every single day.
“I have a duty to be here for my staff, my players. I’ve seen the bits and pieces around me walking and I will never do that. I want to be here. I want the club to succeed.
“There may come a time when the club say to me, listen, we’ve both had a really good run and let’s leave it there.
What happened in the transfer window?
Adam Idah left Celtic on Deadline Day before a replacement striker was signed
“We accept that our window wasn’t great, we didn’t do as well as what we’d want to do in the window.
“However, I look at the squad I have. I’ve got a talented squad, we’ve brought in some good players and now that’s the job of a manager and a coach, which is to now maximise the group that you have.
“From a defensive perspective, we’ve been really good. We haven’t conceded many goals. The offensive part of the game is what the team needs to improve on and we will improve on that.
“I think probably with the little bit of instability in those final few weeks of the window, it led to not being great for me in the last three games.
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Tino Callaghan from the Celtic Exchange podcast assesses the club’s failure to strengthen the squad during the summer transfer window.
“I played a little bit in slow motion and that’s when the team and players were thinking too much, whereas now, it’s behind us now.
“We can draw a line under it and now we’ve got to really get to work and let’s see that identity again.
“The timing is something that we didn’t quite get the players in at the times that we’d want. As I said before, we have to look at that and we really have to learn from that because it’s been a sequence here at Celtic, not just for me, but for other managers as well.
How did the transfer failures make him feel?
Sebastian Tounekti (left) signed on Deadline day with Kelechi Iheanacho joining Celtic as a free agent
“My duty is to be here and help the team, the squad, the club get back again and moving on. No, it didn’t make me think to walk away. I just felt empty if I’m honest.
“It was a long process and the weight that’s on your shoulders when you’re here, carrying everything. So then when it doesn’t quite go the way you want, then of course you have an empty feeling.
“But then you know as one of the leaders of the club, and particularly the manager of the team, you’ve got to get your head around it and you’ve got to deal with it.
“Then you’ve got to try and maximise the best of what you have and that’s what I’ve done all my career.”
Do you have sympathy for the fans?
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Following an open letter from fans to the club, Celtic’s statement in response and a vote of no confidence towards the board, we look at what is going on at Celtic, plus discuss Brendan Rodgers’ future with podcaster Paul John Dykes.
“Obviously, the club have made a statement, and I’m not here to answer those questions because they’re not my questions.
“I think now the fans have every right to be frustrated.
“That’s what we love about the Celtic supporters. That’s why they’re really unique, their commitment, their passion for the club. It’s why we come in every day to be better for them and those supporters keep us honest.
“They keep us working as hard as we possibly can because of the demands they place on the club and you don’t want that to diminish.
“Because you have domestic success, you don’t just want to then sit and be comfortable. You want to be able to go and these guys see that we want to also be able to progress the club, because there’s huge potential at this football club.”
