Stephen McGowan has outlined a fairly negative assessment on what’s coming from Celtic in the January transfer window whilst also noting the lack of movement on the manager’s contract. Together leads him to believe that Brendan Rodgers will be away in the summer…
And with a crucial meeting with the support tonight, the Celtic Board will have to provide answers to the questions that the fans have collectively demanded answers on and within that response there is going to have to be some signs of intent and ambition for the January transfer window.
At a recent media conference at Lennoxtown before the Hibs game, The Celtic Star asked Brendan Rodgers about the plans that are in place for the January window, with the club hopefully learning from the lessons of the frustrating summer window.
We asked: On looking forward has there been anything discussed so far about changes that are going to be made for the January transfer window so that we can avoid similar dramas of the summer window?
The Celtic manager replying to The Celtic Star, said: “I really hope so. At this moment in time, for me, the scouting team knows exactly what we’re after and what we missed out on in the summer market. So again, a lot of work going on into that.
“It’s a smaller window, of course, so you have to be slick, you have to be prepared and ready and look to get the business done as early as we possibly can. So I’d be hopeful that we could learn from that and hopefully close that out better in the January window.”
We then Brendan if there was anything on his new contact – he replied: “Nothing as of yet, no.”
Stephen McGowan has now turned the spotlight on the January transfer window, describing it as a potentially pivotal moment for the club. Speaking on the Press Box podcast McGowan said:
“What’s going to be interesting is the January window, because it’s perfectly obvious they still need more firepower in the central area and on the right wing, as you’re aware. The failure to sign a right winger was absolutely bewildering. Really, signing two left wingers, not signing a right winger — what on earth?
“There will be the full expectation, probably rightly, that Brendan Rodgers won’t be around at the end of the season. He won’t have renewed his contract by the looks of things at the moment. So what do they do in January? Do they spend big money? Do they just go and try and get a loan signing or two?
“That board have been there a very long time. Do they markedly change their behaviour? Are they capable of changing their behaviour? I’m not sure they are. So this kind of festering unrest at Celtic, I don’t see it going away anytime soon.”
Tonight the Celtic Board will have to provide both answers and re-assurances if they have any hope of getting the Celtic support back on side. Yet with no developments on the manager’s contract and the leak to the Sun newspaper via the infamous ‘Celtic Insider’, the position outlined in that disgraceful communique seems to suggest that the Board want Rodgers gone.
Brendan has already stated that without suitable ambition he will not stay beyond his three years but has no intention of leaving earlier as happened the last time he ran into similar problems with the Board during his first spell at Celtic.
So will Celtic invest in the squad in January to sign a right winger and a striker at the very least or while they try to see things out to the summer when they have their own choice of manager in place, probably being recruited from within the building and fully compliant with the boardroom strategy that the support has clearly had enough of?
Will Hearts maintain their early season form to provide a real challenge and could theRangers with a new manager coming in shortly make progress on the top two to provide what looks at this stage an unlikely challenge? Stranger things have happened. If Hearts are in contention come January Tony Bloom could well back the Tynecastle outfit in the window showing ambition to Celtic caution. How will that sit with the Celtic support?
And what effect will the imminent Rodgers departure have as the weeks go past and the penny drops in the Celtic dressing room that the manager will be for the off come the summer?
Plenty of questions clearly. Tonight is the Celtic Board’s chance to give us the answers.
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Here is another scenario!
Hearts win the league or come second and successfully negotiate the CL qualifiers next summer.
This would give them access to a further 40 million euros. Together with what Tony Bloom contributes that summer, this would give them a step up to continue team improvement. You can bet your bottom dollar that they would not waste that opportunity to build on that success with more forward planning. Something the hard of thinking on the Celtic Board are incapable of.