Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Quite fortunate we’re playing a team not performing too well and propping up the table.

No doubt it’s a wee bit of breathing space for Rodgers and our depleted team at home against a poor St Johnstone. This will be an opportunity to restore some much needed confidence and bed in some on-field partnerships before the trip to Ibroke.

A comfortable win followed by some progress in the market next week should, hopefully, raise levels enough to give us a chance at taking something from a very important away game the following week.

I lack confidence given how we’ve been performing and even more so with the uninspiring recruits and lengthy injury list.

Over to Brendan, he’s on big money, he’s a seasoned and a highly regarded manager. Time to show it by steering us through these choppy waters.

 

we've went from we never stop to we always stop and tippy tappy

Lol

 

Nae wonder I'm sitting thinking someone's got the drop on crow, Notorious or Diazen and * knows how many other guises he goes under so I think I should check his profile

 

New name soon mrs

 

Aye buggerlugs

 

Good idea for a new name

 

Massive couple of weeks.

Imagine if we could dispatch St Johnstone and the find a way to scrape a win at Ibrox.

Six point advantage at this stage would be huge.

 

At the start of the season and before a ball was kicked, I’m sure a lot of folk wouldn’t have contemplated saying things like “imagine if we beat St J and scrape a win at Ibrox”, given the progress our players made last year and the football on display.

Reality now though is we’re playing pish fitba and half our squad have ripped tights.

If we get through the next few weeks in good standing, then fair play, Rodgers deserves huge plaudits.

This coming period is a stern test for Rodgers and if key players are out for eight weeks, he/we are in for a rough ride, not just domestically but in 5 weeks time when we play our first CL game.

 

Disney have quite the same ring to it but it will do

 

We thinking they lose at County and we draw at St Johnstone

 

Unsure if you can have bad words in yer username or not.


So I’ve changed to this

 

Bejeezuz buggerlugs a bad word who knew and tae think that was a common term of endearment when I was a wean

 

Oh, *. Am I showing my age when I call my niece that?

 

I don’t want the wrath of the mods on me.

 

What's even more hilarious is that it's tame in comparison to a lot of the stuff I've read on here

 

That feeling of disappointment when you read the first 9 letters of a post and then read the 10th and realise it's not going to say what you thought it was.

Good post all the same.

 

Brendan Rodgers admits his Celtic squad IS weaker than last season after being rocked by injuries and departures to star men.

The Hoops boss is facing a frantic final week of the transfer window after revealing defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh are all out for at least two months. Rodgers is also still looking to replace top quality departures Jota and Carl Starfelt while Reo Hatate won’t be back until after next month’s international break.

Record Sport’sChris Sutton has claimed Celts are in worse shape now than the end of last term – and Rodgers agrees. But the Hoops boss – who is understood to be chasing £3.5m-rated Honduran ace Luis Palma – is determined to tool up in the last seven days of the window with the Old Firm derby and Champions League on the horizon. Rodgers said: “Listen, I’m not going to beat about the bush when I’m talking about the bush. The squad is not as strong. That’s the reality.

“We’ve lost top players and we’ve got players out for a period of time, so I can’t disagree with that. The point I will make is that we will work very, very hard here to try to improve the squad.

“There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes within the recruitment and trying to identify players that fit into the model. That will continue.

“But there is no doubt that we lost a matchwinner in Jota, we lost Starfelt who was a regular player in the squad. You then look at Carter-Vickers being out, a mainstay of the team over the last couple of years. Hatate too. Ok, he’s not quite been at the level that he has been at, but I’m pretty sure he would get to that very soon.

“So, all of a sudden you are missing players of that quality. So, we have to improve, and that is what we will look to do.”

Rodgers admitted Celtic’s brutal injury list has forced his hand in the transfer market – and changed the job description from when he returned in the summer. He said: “The ward is pretty full at the minute! Sometimes you have that spell, and it’s not great news on our three centre-halves.

“Those three being out is obviously a big disappointment. We have big games, and it’s definitely an area that we’ll have to look at, especially with what we have available.

“We have players who can cover in those positions, so we’ll work with what we’ve got at the minute and then hopefully try to improve the squad. I think when I came in you were thinking I would probably have the squad that ended last season and then be making my own adaptations of maybe four or five players to that.

“Of course, players move on, it changes, so you have to adapt and change. So, we’ll have some work to do over the next week.”

Rodgers remains confident Celtic will be stronger after the window shuts on September 1. He said: “Hopefully. Hopefully. I would say we have strengthened the squad.

“It is the team we need to improve. There has been a lot of really good work done on bringing in Yang and Odin Holm and all these guys. Who will end up, I’m pretty sure, being very good players for the club. But what we want to do is improve the team. That is probably where it is weaker.

“I’m not anxious. I think we are all comfortable and know where we are at. We know we need to improve.”

Rodgers remained tight-lipped on Palma but it’s understood Celts are in the hunt for the wide man who has been impressing with Aris in Greece. The Hoops gaffer also confirmed contract talks are still ongoing with Hatate and Liel Abada.

The pair have yet to pen new deals amid interest but Rodgers – who will include Alistair Johnston against St Johnstone tomorrow – said: “I think it’s been ongoing from before I came in. The club and their representatives have been trying to organise that, and they will continue with that I’m sure.

“Of course, they want to reward and value the players, and give them the worth that they come to an agreement on.”