Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Thankfully, I can not even imagine just how dark dark * it must be to be a rangers/sevco fan in the 21st century .

This was 13 years ago, apart from pandcemic year . HAIL HAIL

 

Massive summer coming up for him and the club. It's getting a bit stale and needs a refresh in the squad.

Tierney coming in is a good start. But we need a lot more than that.

 

He knows who needs to go as well as we do.

 

Brendan Rodgers says worrying about Rangers improving next season isn't his problem.


It comes after his Celtic team drew 1-1 at Ibrox this afternoon.

Cyriel Dessers opened the scoring late in the first half before Adam Idah levelled things up not long before the hour mark.

Neither side could find a winner in the closing stages, and they both had to settle for a point.

Post-match, Rodgers was asked if he expects Rangers to be stronger next season, and whether it means his team have to improve for a potential title race: "It's not my problem to worry about Rangers being stronger," defiantly replied the Celtic manager [BBC].

"I think there's always a narrative around 'Will they [Rangers] be better next season?', which actually diminishes the standards or the narrative around what Celtic have achieved.

"I want to worry about Celtic - us getting better and us improving. They [Rangers] will want to be better, but my concern is Celtic. We leave here [Ibrox] today 17 points clear, [with a] massive goal difference, which shows you our game has been better in the two years I've been here and we will want to go again next season."

Celtic still have four games to go before they close out their campaign.

Next up is the visit of Hibernian to Glasgow's east end, although all eyes are seemingly fixed on the Scottish Cup final on May 25, when Rodgers' men could complete a sought-after domestic treble against Aberdeen

 

A Treble! as if its a given!

Lord watch over & love the fans of Celtic past, that unreal people of Glasgow who defied to give us Celtic FC.

CELTIC FC

 

For the third successive game I didn’t really see an improvement in our set up vs Rangers, nor did I see any one player play to the height of their ability.

Whilst some players have to take accountability for their performances, it’s on Rodger’s to get the players focused and set up right, despite our injuries.

Tactically, I can’t say that I feel like Rodger’s is managing these games well. I felt that in stages we looked passive and lacked intensity.
He needs to get more out the midfield and if he can’t, he needs to change it.

 

Whilst a few were poor today, I don’t quite agree that they were the root cause of the problem. You have been pretty selective with those you have chosen also as it could be argued there were others who played as bad.
All mentioned, maybe with the exception of Yang have had standout performances vs Rangers in the past. There is also no guarantee that throwing money at a problem will prove effective. We paid good money for Trusty who was to be an improvement on Scales and who has since performed poorly in a derby and since lost his place to scales.
We could also spend another £11m on a midfielder who might fail to impose himself on these types of games.

There has been a marked drop off in our performances in the derby games since our 3-0 win at the start of the season.

whilst we had out injury issues, we still had quality on our bench to bring on. I think more lies at the door of Rodger’s and his system he may like to admit.

 

TeesForTims on it already.

 

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has called on his players to “train like animals”, as they aim to complete yet another domestic treble this month.


Speaking to Celtic TV, the Irishman discussed the importance of staying focused, despite having already secured two out of the three major honours this season.

When asked about potentially drifting following their league win, the Celtic manager insisted that this cannot be allowed to transpire. “It's very important not to,” said Rodgers. “We've obviously had a few days after the Dundee United game, a few days now after Ibrox.”

“Now, we've got 18 days to really get super focused on the remaining games and the Scottish Cup final. So it's important that the players and the staff, and the people, can enjoy the success which we've had up until this point.

“But now, as I said, from today, there are 18 days left in the season for us to train like animals every single day to recover the very best way that we can in those days off. And then be in here, get ready, get prepared, take on the games, we have got three games now in a week before we lead into the Scottish Cup final.

“So, for us, and being a Celtic player, this is what it's about. You're not drifting, and your wheels aren't landing, and you're thinking on holiday, this is a massive part of the season no,w and we want to finish it.

“If we do that, then it can be a real historical season for us.”


After completing the treble twice in his first spell as Celtic manager, Rodgers had to make do with a double last season, following a shock defeat against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in the League Cup.

Though clean sweeps of the domestic game are now fairly commonplace concerning Celtic, their manager has stressed the importance of maintaining both focus and respect, despite how close they are to achieving their goals.

“We always have to keep the humility, which is really important,” Rodgers said when asked about Celtic being able to achieve their final goal this season - the treble.

“We mentioned that at the beginning of the season, what our aims were domestically, and that was to win every domestic cup competition and the league. So we're two out of three, we're two-thirds there. But we know this last part is a very difficult part.

“When I came back in 2016, treble wasn't mentioned so much. It was just not a thing that happened. But now that the players have had success from that moment, they feel good in it, they know the expectations, they know the desires of the club and what it is we want to achieve.

“So it's not mentioned as such, but we've known all the way through the season what we wanted to achieve.

To win that aforementioned treble back in 2016/17, Rodgers and his team had to defeat Derek McInnes’ side twice at Hampden, which they did. While the League Cup final meeting was a comfortable 3-0 win, thanks to goals from Tom Rogic, James Forrest and Moussa Dembele, their rematch in the Scottish Cup final was a tight 2-1 affair, famously won by Rogic in stoppage time.

Rodgers recounted the steps he and his coaching staff took to complete the ‘Invincible Treble’. “When I came in 2016, it had only been done three times in the history of the club, and you think from 1888 to that point, it's a remarkably long period of time with brilliant managers and brilliant players,” he said.

“What we tried to do in 2016 was up the level of professionalism, up the mentality, so that everyone then had to come in and tune in with my vision and how we wanted to work. And I think then, once we achieved that, in that 2017 final, it was a really good feeling with a group of players that were then inspired to keep going.

“Obviously, we'd done it back-to-back, which was an amazing achievement. Not in the same way, and it was never going to be in the same way as the first one. It was arguably more challenging in the second season because there's a target on your back. People want to push more; people want to run more. But we'd still done it, and we'd done it in the big moments that season.

“From that, the club has been able to roll out and do it a few more times since. But it's definitely something that's an expectation, which is an incredible thing to say when you know what you have to go through in order to win the three competitions.

Rodgers continued: “It's not easy at all. People take it for granted now. I think that's what's going to happen. But there are so many things that can go against you as a player and a manager.

"For us to have done that over the course of this last year and nine seasons, it's a true reflection of the professionalism, the quality, and you also need that wee bit of good fortune in the journey as well.”

 

Was risky calling out the team after St Johnstone but no doubt it hit home in the dressing room

 

What did you take away from that performance today?

Just the mentality of the team. I think a day like today, a beautiful day, they've already won the league, It would have been so easy just to turn up and not play with that tempo and intensity.

But I said to the players before, this club is all about building on your past success, not dwelling on it. So, two weeks ago you were the champions. We have a chance in two weeks' time to gain another title, and we need to build on the other two by keeping our rhythm, keeping our mentality to arrive for the Scottish Cup in a really good place.

But the work we did in the team today was the difference. To be a team of dominance, you need to counter-press the game, against a team that hits you very, very good. You see it so many times, when they defend well, like they've done, then they break out. With Martin (Boyle), with his speed and pace, and the strikers up front, they can be a real handful.

But today, how we pressed the game from the first minute to the end, made me so proud of the team. Just that ethic and mentality to win, and then that gave us the platform to play our football.


In the lead-up to this game, you did say you would rotate across the week, but it was obviously a strong line-up today. Obviously, seeing the way the game played out, you're justified in that team selection today


You thought I'd say I was wrong?

No, no, I'm saying it worked, because you obviously won the game. But you said you'd rotate, but today didn't feel like the day for that.

You're obviously looking at recovery periods and looking at the Scottish Cup final and trying to work your way back. Plus, we played a week ago. So, no, I didn't think there was a need to do that.

But definitely, I've already named the team to the guys. They know the team for Wednesday. So, don't ask now!

Did you say there's going to be a change in goal? Have you already said there's going to be a change in the goal?

Yes, Vil (Sinisalo) will play.

Were you pleased with Kasper today?

Yes, I just get the feeling again, he's been out for a long time, but I think that him being out, the positive is that having the chance to see Vil now, and his authority, and going to the outbox, you see the calmness of him for such a young goalkeeper. We've really, really gained from that.

Kasper, I know in football there's short memories, but not with me. He's been brilliant for me all season, and it's just nice to get in that field, see how he reacts with his shoulder over the course of the week, and then we can then look at it next week.

How pleasing was it to hit that 106 goal mainstone, obviously the same as there was in 16/17.

Is it 106 or 105? 106, probably 106. 106, is it? Yeah. Cheers, guys. Not that special!

I've been telling the players there's one less. I think, again, setting many targets for them, of course, that was going into this block of games, we had items that we wanted to achieve, obviously the goal scoring,

I think there was a record number of goals at home, which was 62 in a league season, I think when Martin (O'Neill) was in 2003, 2004, that was 62, so we're now on 61.

There's one game to go, and so we'll be hungry to make Trophy Day special, but also during the week, but I've given them targets to achieve beyond winning the trophies, and so you see the hunger in the team in order to achieve those.

Were you especially pleased for Adam (Idah) to get another goal? There were a few groans at a couple of early chances that went begging for him, but he still scores, I think it's what, 19th of the season now?

Yeah, Adam's been fantastic for us, and in his first season, he's only going to get better and better.

I think the thing with Adam is that what probably the crowd and people see is when we play these strikers, like Kyogo and Daizen, they're so explosive, so they're so off the mark, their acceleration is incredible.

He has power and he has speed also, and you see his movement to get in, but he's a different type of striker. His contribution over the course of the season has been so, so important for us, not just domestically, but at the highest level. One striker cannot play all the games that we play, but I've been really pleased with him.

Arne Engels doesn't score so many goals, but again, a young player that's coming in, 21 years of age, you see his work rate today, you see his running, you see his authority in the game.

He's not going to be a player that's going to get 20, 25 goals - that's not why we brought him in. We brought him in to develop him, improve him, but that physicality is so important, especially at the highest level.

So yeah, Auston Trusty coming in, playing off the wrong side, hadn't been playing for a wee while, was good in the game. So yeah, overall I think it was a real, real collective high-level performance.


In terms of midweek, is that a case of obviously not showing your hand as well, in case Aberdeen mix it up before the game, rather than rolling out the big guns?

No, let's trust all the players. The players I'll bring in will be equipped and ready to go there and win the game.

It's just that on the back of such a long, long season, and having the freshness, and obviously we'll have Alistair Johnson, he'll be back then for Wednesday as well. So yeah, I just think it's keeping the freshness in the team.

I want the target to arrive at the Scottish Cup final with as many of the players, got minutes in their legs, and then that gives us an opportunity to choose the team and a bench to win.

You spoke yesterday about some of the young players, that was a nice moment for Sean McArdle being on there.

Aye, he's done really well in the B team, 17 years of age, obviously giving him that feeling.

I want him to be a personality, even though he's only on 10, 12 minutes, whatever it was, and he showed that. I like him, he's got decent legs, he's got a nice football brain, left-sided, he's got culture when he plays, and now he's got the best role models you can have in some of the players that we have here, like Callum (McGregor) and these guys, to learn from.

It gives him a little reward for the good work that he's done, now he's got to continue learning and see what comes from it.

 

Brendan Rodgers has been named the Scottish Premiership Glen’s Manager of the Season 2024/25 after leading Celtic to their fourth league title in a row.

The Hoops were in impressive form throughout the season, culminating in the 5-0 victory over Dundee United at Tannadice last month to secure the Scottish Premiership title.

And Brendan Rodgers also picked up two Glen’s Manager of the Month accolades during the season for September and November.

With two league fixtures left to play, Celtic head into their final matches 17 points clear at the top of the Premiership table, with 28 wins, four draws and only four losses.

The Hoops have also won the League Cup and have a Scottish Cup final to look forward to on May 24.

Brendan Rodgers said: “It is a real honour to receive this award and it is one for us all - the players, my backroom team and all the staff at the club who have worked so hard right across the season to deliver such a high level of consistency and success.

“We have produced some great performances across the season and some great numbers, which have been the foundation for us wining the Premiership title so convincingly.

“Our aim at the start of every season will be to bring exciting, attacking and winning football to our fans and we are pleased to have done that again this year."

Colin Matthews, CEO of Glen’s owner the Loch Lomond Group, said: "Celtic have shown remarkable consistency and resilience throughout what has been another fiercely competitive Premiership season, delivering an unwavering performance right from the beginning.

“Under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, Celtic have built on the success of the last three seasons to claim the league trophy once again making him a worthy recipient of the Glen’s Manager of the Season 2024/25 award.

"My congratulations go to Brendan and everyone at Celtic for another commendable achievement this season.”

 

Most likely correct as the lineup we put out tomorrow will be pretty different from what the cup final lineup will look like.

 

End of season team