Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Christopher McKay watch on as Celtic draw 0-0 with Kairat at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-off match, worth over £40m to the winners.
Q: Brendan, you said yesterday about not having the control over, you know, the time scale of bringing players in. Is that something you’d like to have more control over?
Brendan Rodgers: “Listen, I just want what’s the best for Celtic. I don’t necessarily need control. If there’s alignment and everything is aligned and I want what’s best for the football team, that’s where my strengths are. And like I said, this is a performance club. This is where you need to perform. And for that, it’s getting players in, getting the team prepared to the best level that you possibly can and then going on journeys that can excite supporters and create great memories. That’s why I’m here, in order to do that. So it’s not about control. I just want what is the best for Celtic.”
Q: Does it feel like that alignment is there at the moment?
Brendan Rodgers: “Well listen, at this moment in time, the focus is on the team. Focus is on us getting through into the group stages. And that’s my only focus.”
Let’s hear what you have to say about this worrying situation at Celtic. It’s like we are back to the summer 2018 window all over again and at that stage we were going out of the Champions League to AEK Athens while effectively the manager’s time at the club was at the beginning of the end stage and he’d be away by the start of February.
Rodgers later regretted the way he left and of course Peter Lawwell was delighted in that not only had he got rid of Rodgers with no compensation payable but he also collected £7.5m from Leicester City. This time Brendan won’t leave until the summer – unless they sack him and if Celtic fail to make the Champions League next Tuesday they may well do just that.
Your thoughts please…
CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, while stocks last. We have LESS THAN FIFTY signed copies remaining of the ones Danny will sign next week.
And there’s another great benefit for readers who pre-order their copy of Celtic in the Eighties. You will also receive a copy of an earlier David Potter book – Celtic’ Icicle – Alec McNair – which you’ll receive for FREE when you pre-order with Celtic in the Eighties.
So you get two great Celtic books by David Potter and better still the postage is only charged on one. Click on the image below to order. (Just order Celtic in the Eighties and we’ll automatically add a copy of the Alec McNair book to your order). This offer is only available for pre-ordered copies sold via Celtic Star Books.
Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.
Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image to join.
