Brendan Fraudgers!

I don't know if it's just me but I hate it when Brendan says we've absolutely no chance of winning the champions league eventhough it's true, I just think things like this can play on the players minds. I'm sure he said something similar playing against bayern and P.s.g last year, was something along the lines of we are never going to beat these teams but we will try our best. Just can't accept as a celtic fan going into a game accepting defeat is inevitable .

 

He is only saying that to the media to take the pressure off the players. No chance he will be saying that behind closed doors.

 

You think he's telling them we can win the Champions League?

 

Now who knows what he says behind closed doors, granted..

but it was annoying me how defeatist he was in interviews before CL games last season.. and it looked like the players believed it as we played without any belief..

 

Agree with this tbh. I wasn't a huge fan of Strachan but he managed to make distinctly average players believe they could go toe-to-toe with the best of the world and give them a game.

 

It’s as if he loves being our manager but in certain aspects has an EPL attitude towards us in certain circumstances, may sound harsh..but thats how I feel..

Love him tho..

 

I don't think he will be saying that directly. He will be telling them they can win every game they play though.

 

I doubt very much he was saying we can't beat and compete with PSG and Bayern..

There's no doubt we were mentally fragile in 3 out of the 4 game's against them though..

 

I'm only messing mate. See above..

 

I cant see Rodgers saying "OK lads PSG away here, we will get pumped and have zero chance of going all the way, but go out there and enjoy yourselves" He will be saying something more like "We can get a result here if we get the tactics right, 3 points here and then who knows how far we can go"

 

Of course he will but an heir of confidence isn't solely down to what he says. It's down to the system he chooses and also if they believe their team-mates have the ability to do it to good effect.

Strachan is the perfect example for that really. He was putting together teams of guys like Telfer, Naylor, Caldwell, McManus, Robson etc. yet more often than not when they took to the pitch they had a siege mentality and it was evident the team was a sum of all parts. Rodgers has far better players and squad overall at his disposal yet even when we took an unexpected lead in Paris there was an air of inevitability about things. It's those occasions I wish Rodgers would adopt a more pragmatic approach. I get his perspective that he wants players to test themselves against the best to learn but at a team like ourselves who look to sell these assets once they have 'learned' it's frustrating.

 

We need to remember we had Man City and Barca and McGregor was a foot away from getting us into the Europa League away to Borrusia.

For sure he never put doubt in the players' minds for that group.

If we qualify and get a decent group there's every chance he can get the players' minds thinking about 2nd place. I mean some of the groups compared to the two we've drawn have been pish easy.

 

Brendan Rodgers admits replacements are needed before he improves squad
The Celtic boss wants to get new signings in to replace Patrick Roberts and Stuart Armstrong before he splashes the cash on improvements.

Brendan Rodgers last night admitted he needs to replace before Celtic can improve.

And the Parkhead boss insists it’s down to his club chiefs to decide how far they can go in financial terms as he seeks to add the sprinkling of stardust to take his troops to the next level.

Rodgers is looking to add layers of quality to his double treble squad.

Beforehand though the manager has pointed out he needs to suitably replace the departed pair of Patrick Roberts and Stuart Armstrong.

With Kieran Tierney the subject of big interest from Everton and Moussa Dembele also on the radar of a host of suitors, Rodgers may yet have other outgoings to deal with before this window closes.

Rodgers is acutely aware of the financial landscape and issues facing Celtic in the crazy world of the transfer market. He understands the problems.

To find someone better than Callum McGregor or Tom Rogic for example he’d need to shell out serious dough. But he also seems sure in order to keep pushing the club forward he’s going to have to add real class.

Odsonne Edouard’s been purchased for a club record fee and Rodgers said: “It’s quality I’m after. We are not a team that needs recycling.

“This is a team that has grown, is developing and evolving. I just want to sprinkle it with quality.

“There is no doubt we need to replace, first and foremost. We’ve got two players out of the squad in terms of Stuart and Patrick. They were very influential players for us so we need to replace them before we can think about adding to the squad.

“We need to have the base of a strong squad and then if we can add to that, it would be important. I’m very happy with the players we have but I also know when you are doing really 
well, you always need to strengthen.

“It’s not easy. We’ve got boys like Tom who are fantastic talents. To bring in guys better than these, that costs money. That’s for the club really.

“That’s the difficult thing for us. Because for someone to come in over Callum, for example, that would cost a lot of money. To come in over Tom, Moussa, Odsonne or Leigh Griffiths, that costs money.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t improve. The club, that’s not how they have operated. It’s not how they work.

“My job is to maximise and invest coaching into the talents we have and make them the best we possibly can.Like we’ve seen with Stuart, at times that means you’ll end up losing players.

“You are happy they are going on to different competitions and you’ve done your very best for them, so it’s catch 22 really. The market now just gets away from you each year, 
especially the market we are in.”

The financial implications of splashing large sums of cash are obvious. Celtic have worked a superb business model of buying low and selling high for years.

The club is in their best position in terms of money due to clever dealings and Champions League cash .Can the model be tweaked? Rodgers said: “The club will decide that.”

Of course, he knows improvements can also come from within, as the manager has shown by increasing the value of many players he inherited from Ronny Deila.

Rodgers said: “We set out each year to be better and improve. When you work in an industry or sport that allows you to work with individuals and teams there’s always a need to improve. What we can look at is two-fold.

“One is the players who are here. I’ve seen development in a lot of the players. I still think there’s more within those.

“Callum, for example, I look at the authority and the confidence he plays with now to when I came in. There’s more to come from him as well.

 

I think he does underestimate Celtic at times, particularly our ability to punch above our weight in Europe.

Celtic Park was a fortress for years, and it can be again - at least against second-tier clubs.

 

MOUSSA DEMBELE is ready to beef up Celtic’s Euro bid — after shedding pounds over the summer.

The striker is expected to make his pre-season debut against Sparta Prague.

Boss Brendan Rodgers revealed the Frenchman looks trim and he expects him to be flying for the Champions League opener with Alashkert.

He said: “Moussa came back a bit later than everyone else, but he looks really, really fit.

“He’s lost weight, he looks really good in his running. He’ll be fine.

“Moussa had a slight issue with his knee the other day and we took him out of one of the sessions.

“We didn’t want to risk it and push him for the Bohemians game on Saturday, but he’ll be involved on Tuesday.

“All the players will be undercooked in terms of games, that’s the reality.

“But Moussa’s returned in good condition and we still have time to go.”

Scott Allan and Ryan Christie have featured for Celtic in Austria after returning from loans at Hibs and Aberdeen.

Rodgers insists they’ll get more chances to impress in a bid to become regulars.

He said: “The two boys have come back and my duty to them is to make sure they are at their highest level fitness wise.

“Then we’ll see over the course of the pre-season. Both players have looked very good.

“When I look at Ryan’s situation, it was to get him out and get him stronger. The Aberdeen loan was perfect for him.

“It’s partly where these boys see themselves as well.

“I might want to keep them but if I can’t give them as many games as they want it’s difficult.

“But both boys have come back looking strong and looking fit and have done very well.

“I never rule out any player. I use my eyes, at how they train, I look at their commitment.

“You mention a guy like Dedryck Boyata.

“You get players that initially were out of the team, but they get better and they improve.

“Then all of a sudden they are in the team and they are performing very well.

“So I don’t rule out any player, especially when you’ve got good players.”

 

BR: "This is another step towards our match fitness. We have to work your players towards full fitness very, very quickly, especially when you have qualifiers."

BR: "You’re still building minutes and fitness. It’ll be a team that will play 60 to 70 minutes of the game and then we’ll look to make some changes. You can’t over protect because you need to build the fitness."

BR: "We had a great time here last year in terms of how we were received when we came over here and the game. At this stage of the season it’s good for us."

BR: "We had a really good week in Lennoxtown and followed that up with a great preparation week in Austria. Now we continue with that preparation."


BR: "When we go into next week we’ll be looking to push players to 90 minutes but we need to bear in mind the 38 degrees. It’s competitive games very early but we also have to find a balance of getting the players fit, strong."

BR: "As much as we can, we’ve had good preparation in terms of weather. Of course, it’s always difficult to play in extreme heat like that."


BR: "We’ve done as much preparation as we could. Our analysist was out there and we have video footage on them so we’ll be as prepared as we possibly can be."


BR: "We need to strengthen, that’s something I’ve said all along. But it’s about bringing players in of the right quality. It’s not a numbers game. It’s about having a core squad that’s very strong."

BR: "He picked up a minor thigh strain out in Austria which is unfortunate for him. He was out for a while and then came back into pre-season and was doing very well. Hopefully he won’t be out for too long but we’ll assess that over the next couple of weeks."

 

Media asked him if celtic fans are racist because of that wee * shay logan ..... first reply should have been if that was the case forty five percent of the first eleven would have run out the door sinclair dembele edouard ntcham boyata

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

 

That would be a bit like saying I don't hate blacks, one of my best mates is.

 

On Shay Logan:

But Rodgers said: “It’s not something you would ever want to see anywhere.

“There has obviously been an ongoing thing with young Shay since an incident I was made aware of when I first came in.

“But the Celtic supporters were voted the best in the world. I think that says it all in terms of the ambience at the stadium and how they behave themselves.

“It’s not something I want to go into and it’s not something the Celtic supporters are ever renowned for.

“It’s a wonderful atmosphere at Celtic Park. It probably doesn’t help yourself if you walk about after the game and make all sorts of gestures.

But the Celtic supporters have been given their title last year and there’s a reason why. So there’s no other comment.”
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Well said Brendan especially the bit I have put in bold where he pretty much says Logan brings it all on himself by acting the *.