“I understand the consequences,” Brendan Rodgers tells The Celtic Star

Q: Just considering everything you mentioned there about what you’re trying to achieve and get those solutions, doing that at a club like Celtic, at the moment when tensions are high everywhere, how tough has that been for you in terms of your managerial career and everything you’ve had to go through? Where does this point as a coach rank for you in terms of toughness?

Brendan Rodgers: “It’s clearly a huge challenge, because it’s not just on the field, it’s off the field. I want this club, I love this club, I want this to be the best it possibly can be. It’s not the face I want us to show what we’ve seen at the weekend, both off the pitch and on the pitch. That isn’t what Celtic is about for me. But whilst we’re trying to find it, as a coach, that’s the constant challenge. It’s not meant to be easy. It’s not all about winning trebles and doubles and all. You have to stand up and fight, or else it’s over. That’s not clearly what we want. We’re a club that’s a huge institution. We’ve got a remarkable history, and I’m very privileged to manage it in this tough moment. It is tough, absolutely. I need to stand up and really lead and see where we can improve.”

Q: The players being professional will get on with the job and try not to get distracted, but for everyone at the club, you’re obviously the face of it to us. Is there that feeling around the club that everything that’s going on is harmful, it is tough, it is changing the image of the club that you don’t want to present? Is there that feeling amongst, not just within the playing squad, but everyone affected with the club?

Brendan Rodgers: “As I said, I’m sure there are studies out there on the impact on a club or institution when you do have these types of protests and whatever else, or lack of harmony, is what we can safely say. That will be out there somewhere on what that brings, but listen, we on the football side, we have to get on with it. We have to get on with it. We have to produce the best performances. You can always lose a game. A defeat, of course, for 24 hours, it’s a real, real sore one. Especially at the weekend, that’s something I never envisaged at all. But you have to stand up and you have to focus on that and focus on the performance because if you perform well, then you normally get what you deserve.”

Q: Can I just ask, is there a time scale for Daizen Maeda’s return? Is that a serious injury?

Brendan Rodgers: “He’s suffering stiffness in his lower back and his hamstrings. I think in the last game against Motherwell before the international break, he just felt his hamstrings. So we’ve had some positive news on it, but there’s no timeline on it. He certainly won’t be ready for tomorrow, and then we’ll see where he’s at for the weekend.”

Q: Brendan, just to be sure, do you stand by the Honda Civic comment, no regrets over it?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, listen, it’s something that I said at the time, and I said it because I felt it. So I’ve got no regret now.”

Q: From Sunday, do you get a sense that the players are stung, that they’re ready to come out and show what you would regard as their proper selves as players?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, well, we have to. I think that when you lose a game and you lose like we did away at Dundee, then the next game is the next opportunity, and that’s what we have to stand up and fight now. We need to get a level of performance and I need to get a level of performance out of the squad that allows us to be consistent and be creative and that’s what we’re looking at doing.”

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