Daizen Maeda given Larsson comparison by Brendan Rodgers

Showing 5 of 5

Jeffrey Schlupp of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Q: What does Jeffrey Schlupp bring to Celtic?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think firstly his mentality will fit in with the culture here. I’ve never worked with Jeffrey before, but I’ve come across him. Obviously, he came through at Leicester City as a young player and won the league there. The guys I remember speaking to at that time talked about what a good guy he was and what a fantastic player he was. He was multifunctional for them. Incredible pace and power. Obviously, he moved on to Crystal Palace. And you can see, when he played there a lot of the times in my latter stages there at Leicester, he was a central midfield player. He played in there and played very well. So, I think what he comes in as, he offers a great option for us in a couple of positions.

Greg Taylor of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League training on January 28, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Greg’s been brilliant for us this season, but like all the other players, probably when I look back, we didn’t bring in a left-back to cover him last season. I went with Scales as a cover left-back, but I just felt that I didn’t want to take that risk this January. So, we bring him in, his attributes, he’s naturally left-sided. Physicality is really good. He’s Premier League physicality, running power, touching the ball and, of course, like I say, the experience. He’s really excited about being here and I’m looking forward to spending the next four months with him.”

Q: Will he be involved tomorrow?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes. Well, hopefully. Hopefully, he will be. He’s ready to go. A really good level of fitness and, like I said, he’ll really enjoy playing at this club.”

Q: Do you think, with the additions, you’ve got a more flexible squad? You have players that can play on each side and inside? Do you think it’s more flexible?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think we have players that can do that. It’s like with Jota, he can play on the left or right side, but you’d probably ask him if he’d prefer the left. The view of the game is different. Jeffrey, like you say, is where he can play in that left-back slot where he’s played for Leicester and played for Crystal Palace, but he’s also played inside. So, I think the flexibility is important, especially if you want to have a tight squad. It’s probably a little tighter than what I would like, if I’m honest, but the players can do that. I’m really looking forward to working with him and, like I say, he’s a good guy. He’ll fit into the group here, just slip in, no problem. He’ll know Kasper from before as well and, like I said, he’ll enjoy playing at this club here for the next four months.”

Dundee’s third goal. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Q: What do you expect from Dundee in terms of the game and also how do you reconcile training for a team that took you all the way 3-3 but then conceded six against Hearts? How do you balance that?

Brendan Rodgers: “The training was very easy for that, for 40 minutes, we totally dominated the game. It should have been 2-3 at half-time, conceded a poor goal in counter-attack which typified the rest of the game. Our counter-pressing wasn’t there and then our actual defending. We just weren’t physically good enough in the second half. When we’re not, I always talk about it when we press well and are aggressive and everything else is good in our game. It was a very, very easy game to analyse. Counter-attack goal we gave away just before half-time. A deflected goal, comes in but we’ve got to deal with it. Iin a different area of the pitch then there’s no drama and then the third one from a corner. So we were soft in our defending. Very easy game to analyse. I can absolutely guarantee we won’t be that soft again tomorrow.”