Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Next hun game is absolutely massive for him. If it goes anywhere near the same as the last one, it will be a very big concern.

 

Feel like a lot of * experience each season anew, like a newborn baby, completely forgetting every other season they've seen up to now, and what happened at the same time of year in all of those seasons.

 

Regarding some of the midfield issues we have, I wonder if Rodgers can’t pinpoint what the problems are, or if he knows what they are but can’t fix them?

The lack of any kind of ‘Plan B’ is also aggravating; he’s extremely rigid in his thinking, tactically-speaking.

 

Cos we are so far ahead theres more attention on rodgers than there normally would be. The minute i saw trusty playing live i said nope.just as well we are a good few points ahead we will need them to limp over the line for the league. Young boys game not a chance unless big changes are made. Rodgers ego is the problem. He can gtf asap. Once a snake always a snake. And im not alone thinking that. Cant stand him after what he did to us.HH

 

* me killie at the weekend could be massive. A * junior second string dundee team should be nowhere near us. HH

 

Sorry bud but that's just * mental imo. Far and away one of the best managers we could hope to attract, team coasting the league and well positioned to progress in CL. 100% behind him.

 

Dec-jan we will usually drop a game or two.
Nothing to be concerned about as we manage our way through 2-3 games a week.

Come late February we are usually back on form and the run through til may/wrapping the title up is a joy.



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What gets me about Brendan is how inaccurate he is at times. Calls daizen 'daizAn' and said before the game recently that kyogo was brought in as a winger . Also on playing daizen up front last season, he was talking as if he had never played up there before. I just don't get these kind of inaccuracies, there's probably a lot more that I can't remember of the top of my head . How can supporters know more basic facts than the manager?

 

How's the squad looking from Tuesday night?

Yes, we've only got James Forrest missing, so everyone back and available, which is great.

When you look to this game, it's the Scottish Cup. Sometimes in the fourth round, it's something where you can change a few things, but given the opposition, do you just treat it as a regular game?

Well, we would do that anyway, but of course, it's a tough opponent that we're playing, so we're very mindful of that. And obviously, Derek and his team, they've had a good rest over this period as well. It's the start of a competition that this club is synonymous with, and we're very excited by that.

We've got an extra little bit of recovery, having played on Tuesday night. So, yes, everyone fit and ready and available for a tough game.

It's your trophy to defend. You said at the start of the season, as always, the aim is to win all the trophies here. Is this where your quest for the treble really starts, though, when this competition gets underway?

No, we're not defending it, we have to win it. And for that, we want to go in and attack the game and play to the level that we know we can.

Like you say, we've won a trophy. We've got two more to aim for, and of course, it's the next game. Our focus is very much on looking to get it off to a good start in the competition.

We were speaking to Kasper Schmeichel there, who says he watched the final last year and was taken aback by the scenes at the end and all that sort of stuff. Is that the sort of fuel that can light the fire for players when you see what reward can come at the end of this Scottish Cup journey?

Yes, it's an incredible occasion. It always comes on the back of a really long, arduous season with a lot of work, but that is a game, it's a great climax to the season.

Obviously, of course, if you win it, like we did last season, against a great rival, then it makes it extra special. The final, if you can get to it and win it, then it can be a great end to your season.

In terms of Daizen Maeda coming back in, is that one that you may have to just nurse back in as he's fully ready to hit the ground?

Yes, he's fully ready to go if we need him.

I think for him, it probably felt more like a little circuit breaker for him, as opposed to a long injury. It was just something that hasn't been out for so long. So, just watching him in training this week, he's looked good.

He's ready and available to start if we need that.

How difficult is it to balance Kilmarnock with, of course, a huge game next week against Young Boys, as well as that one to keep an eye on?

Well, I think the beauty of it is that we have the rest. I think that if you look at our games, like the last seven games we've played in 20 days. The players have done so, so well to manage their way through it.

Of course, whenever you draw or lose a game at a big club like Celtic, it stings, there's no doubt. But generally, over the seven games, having five wins, a draw and only one defeat in that period, whenever the games are so tight, you're virtually playing just over every two days. The players have done really, really well.

We now have a little point where we have that extra day recovery going into Kilmarnock, and then we don't play until Wednesday. So, that allows us to virtually reset again and come out of what that really, really, really tight, busy, hard schedule was. From a physical perspective and a mental perspective, we'll be ready.

And if we have to go team on a Saturday, team on a Wednesday, it won't be a problem for us.


What are your hopes for Johnny Kenny in the second half of the season?

Well, initially, for Johnny was to come back and for me to have a look at him over a few weeks.

He's come in, he's done very well and then we assess it from there.

A lot of transfer talk around Alex Vale, perhaps changing the scenery for him. Where is he at the moment? What's that situation at the moment with him in terms of yourselves and what that means for yourselves and the rest of the window?

He's still very much a player here.

Lots of rumours around lots of players and lots of moving parts. But at this very moment, Alex is here and getting ready for the game tomorrow.

Will decisions on transfer come after the European games? Because obviously you can't change your European squad. So, is there a case of any of that kind of stuff being put to bed until that point?

I think there's numbers of decisions on players here. Certainly, we've got work to do. Obviously, the window is open for a little bit longer than the end of January.

So, that always gives us time. We've got our game against Aston Villa and it's the final European game and then there's a little bit of time after that. But at this very moment in time, as I said, there's a lot of shifting pieces and we'll just manage that.

At this moment in time, Alex, he's very concentrated. He's absolutely loved his time here and he's been here and he's been a fantastic young player for us. So, I'm really, really happy with that.

We'll see what evolves over the course of the rest of the window.


Brendan, if a player like Alex was to leave, any player really, would they have to be replaced straight away, you wouldn't want to go into the second half of the season with a player light?

No, there's absolutely no way that would happen. Obviously, with Alex coming in here on loan, I make a commitment to a young player to come in and play.

He's loved his time here. He enjoys it here. He enjoys the football.

He's become a Champions League player coming to Celtic and he's in no rush to leave. However, if something was to change on that front, where he may not be getting the game time, then I have to be open and honest with him to let him understand this. But he knows absolutely the picture here.

And like I said, my honesty and commitment will be with him, first and foremost, in terms of what the situation is.

Obviously, you've had a lot of cup battles with Derek McInnes, both your times here as well. But when you enjoy it, when you go head-to-head against his teams, are you aware of everything that they do?

Yes, absolutely. Always a really good manager, Derek, who's got a lot of experience and especially up here, knows what it takes to win games. So, yes, teams are always difficult to play against. They're well-organised, well-motivated.

We work very hard. It was a really tough game against them last time out, where they played very well. We had them stand up and be strong and defend well, but then showed the moments of quality needed to win the game.

It’s a totally different game coming back to our place. Obviously, we played earlier on the season as well at home and played well and had a good scoreline, but it's a cup game. So, we have to be ready to play against them.

They're a good side and they'll be doing everything they can to get the result.

Do you think they're going to sit deep or do you think they'll take some encouragement from Dundee and come out after the team a bit more?

It just depends. It just depends.

I think that probably the second half at Dundee, they gave a little bit more pressure. If I'm looking at the game and being critical of us, we needed to play with a little bit more poise in our game and play through that, which we've done hundreds and hundreds of times, but we didn't do that.

I think there's always going to be moments of pressure.

You have to feel in the game. So, whether that's at the beginning of the game, where a team will feel they can go for you and push, or whether they sit off or maybe behind in the game, and then they feel they want to give everything to it. So, I think whenever it comes, it'll come at some point.

It's whether it's at the beginning, middle or at the end of the game. But we have to be ready for that to manage our way through that.



Do you think having the three games at home is something that Celtic can build on momentum on?

Yes, I think it's great.

I think that, as I said earlier, we were on a really busy schedule there and I think the players in the main have come out of it really, really well. I've said many times, we love being at home and we've got three really exciting games now and the various competitions just to keep moving forward. And that starts with the Scottish Cup game tomorrow.

So, we're all excited by it and getting into the next round and then we can prepare and get ready for a really big night on Wednesday.

Would you say, Brendan, you're still on track to add a few faces on this window?

Yes, I would hope so, yes. There's been lots of work going on for a number of months, but as you can imagine, it's never as simple when you actually then get to the point of getting the player that you want, because there's various reasons why his club would want to maybe keep them.

But I'm fairly confident by the end, we can add that extra freshness and competition to the squad.

In a general sense, are these extra Champions League games maybe creating a bit of delay in business taking place across Europe as well, with the teams that are still in Europe?

Yes, I think it does. I think with the extra added games, and obviously remembering as well, if you sign players that can't play in the Champions League, so you're then working with the players that you have currently within your squad.

And thankfully for us, touch wood, we don't have the injuries that maybe if another team has lots of injuries, then even more so why they would want to keep players back. So, you just have to be patient. You'd always want to have a player in the very first day, but if it can't be the case, then somewhere along the January period, we would hope to get them in then

 

Reading between the lines on Valle.. think we'll definitely see KT this window.

 

7 games in 20 days is spfl taking the * *. All teams should get together and tell them to * shove it. Injuries and burnt out teams before important european ties ffs

 

Take your point on board but tbh we are 13 points ahead because the huns are utter mince really. HH

 

Fair enough, be boring as * if we aw agreed with each other aw the time.

 

We're 13 clear because we're miles better, with a better mentality and the huns can't cope with the challenge..

We arguably should be more than 13 clear as well..

 

I’ve brought this up on here before but for me, you’ve got to be asking questions of why Rodgers consistently has backed Hatate to the hills by giving him 90 minute run outs… when he’s simply currently a million miles off the standard that we need.

 

Brendan Rodgers admits there is one Celtic stat he is not clued up on - but is VERY keen to know what it was.

The holders survived a scare as Callum McGregor's opener was cancelled out by Kilmarnock striker Bobby Wales - but Daizen Maeda was on had for the Hoops with 20 minutes to play as he secured progression in the Scottish Cup. The victory means the Hoops will be in Monday's draw for the fifth round but Rodgers concedes it could have been much more comfortable with the hosts creating many clear cut chances to put the game to bed


That prompted him to make reference to xG and while he confesses to not being into that side of the game, it is something off the back of the result and opportunities that has perked his interest. He told Premier Sports: "It feels very good. Obviously it was a game that should have been a lot more comfortable than the scoreline. We had so many really good chances. I am not sure what xG is, I am not really into that side of the game, but for that, I would be interested to know what ours was.

Big credit to the players. Dominated the first half and had so many chances. Then we concede from a defensive throw-in in the first half. You then need to react and we did that in the second-half. Kept fighting and working and created more chances. But listen, the objective is go get through and we did that. We take that and are in the hat for the next round.


Celtic have been linked with a number of big names in this window including a return of Kieran Tierney from Arsenal. Record Sport also exclusively revealed that the Scottish champions are ready to test Aston Villa's resolve over Louie Barry with an opening seven-figure bid. Asked about additions, Rodgers added: "We know exactly what we want to do. Up to this point the players have been very, very good but we know what we need and what we want."

 

Surely he's taking the * not knowing what xG is.