Everything Liam Scales and Brendan Rodgers said to The Celtic Star

Representing The Celtic Star, I spoke to both Brendan Rodgers and Liam Scales at yesterday’s media conference ahead of this evening’s must-win Europa League clash against SK Sturm Graz and here is what both the Celtic manager and centre-half had to say, with Liam first up…

: Liam Scales

: Brendan Rodgers

The Celtic Star: Callum McGregor said on Sunday that the team is too easy to play against. Would you agree with that assessment?

Liam Scales: “I think, based on the game on Sunday, we probably made it too easy for Dundee. We played into their hands, they set up to be defensive and solid, and they won the game basically through counter-attacks and a set-piece. That’s how they would’ve liked the game to play out, and it did. We didn’t do enough to disrupt that, so yeah, I can see where that came from.”

Liam Scales on the ball as usual. Dundee v Celtic. 19 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The Celtic Star: With three tough away games still to come after tomorrow night, would you consider this a must-win game?

Liam Scales: “Yeah, it probably is. Obviously, there are enough games left that if we don’t win tomorrow, we can still win the rest. So it’s not a must-win, but it’s really important for us to get this win. Given where we are now, we need to perform well and get three points on the board.”

Brendan Rodgers at Dens Park — Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers, Dundee v Celtic. Dens Park, Dundee, 19 October 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace

The Celtic Star: Brendan, what would you say to supporters who believe, from the boardroom, to the players, to yourself in the dugout, that things have become stale and that the club is in a crisis?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, there’s no doubt that it’s in a difficult moment, and I think it goes hand in hand. If I’m honest, I think that it is difficult. We understood what we wanted to be as a football team in the summer and we never quite managed to get there. So of course we now have to live with that. So that’s something that every day we’re trying to improve and make better. But there’s absolutely no doubt that we’re in a difficult moment and we have to stand together and come through, and that’s what’s going to be important if we’re going to progress.”

Callum McGregor. Dundee v Celtic. 19 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The Celtic Star: Just going back to Callum’s comments about being too easy to play against, is that perhaps the worst criticism you can level against your side just now and is tomorrow night a must-win game for the players and yourself?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think every game is to win. When we go out, we want to win every single game. We’ll do our very, very best to do that. It’s one of the things that I’ve always said, coming in here, that you want to be a team that’s very hard to play against. When this team’s at its best and when the club is, then of course it is very difficult.

“We’ve seen it in pre-season. When Eddie Howe was here with Newcastle and thinking that this was going to be a real challenge in place for any team to come in the Champions League to play. I think he mentioned that afterwards. So that’s the type of team that you always want to be. But of course, circumstances and how it’s dropped for us after the window has made that much more difficult for us.

“But for me, it’s to win every single game. And if you don’t, I understand the consequences. Especially at a club like this here. So for me, it’s a must-win game tomorrow night in whichever way you want to look at it. For us to compete in the Europa League, we want to get up and running. We want to get a performance level that can inspire that confidence. And in every which way, to give a better feeling to supporters off the pitch. That’s what we want to do.”