BRENDAN RODGERS was asked yesterday if Celtic needed 3 or 4 new faces before the transfer window ‘slams’ shut on Friday. And while the Celtic manager ‘absolutely’ agrees that a number of signings are needed, he remains coy about whether they will arrive, saying simply, “Let’s wait and see.” He’s had a few disappointments on that front already this summer so is taking nothing for granted.
“Well, the targets I wanted are gone – two of the three, the third one being Odsonne.
“So this year wasn’t a huge overhaul. It was about simplicity in one thing, which is quality. There is a lot of talk around all the transfers. But it’s always been very clear what we needed.
“I’ve been pretty clear, since the end of last season, about what we need, which is quality. We still have work to do in the transfer market to give the group some strength and depth.
“You need to replace what you lose in order to keep that strength – and that competition. I think what people may or may not know is, when you are working day to day and challenging the squad all the time, it’s about competition.
“It’s no coincidence that James Forrest was very good with Patrick Roberts breathing down his neck. And vice-versa. The midfield players knew, if they weren’t quite doing it, they had someone who could come in, come on and do well. So, if you are just off your game a bit as an attacker, you have Stuart Armstrong to come on or Tom Rogic to come on. Or you change the balance.”
The Celtic manager has three games to prepare for before and just after the window closes but will devote a considerable amount of his time in what will be an extremely busy week to getting some transfer dealings concluded.
“I will be heavily involved. Any recruitment is always about identification of the player. Then you try to bring it together with wages and transfer fees before completion.
“I will obviously be involved on the periphery of it in terms of the player and his suitability. But it’s a collective thing, the way we work here. Let’s hope we can do something.”
The loss of a place in the Champions League Group stage is a blow to Rodgers – the football manager and also to the board in terms of finance but that shouldn’t impact on the willingness of Celtic to commit funds to improve the squad this week. Nor should it mean that there will be any summer bargain sales at Celtic to compensate for the lost Champions League cash.
“The club don’t need to sell,” Brendan said.
“We’ve been in a very good position, financially, over the past couple of years and that probably eases the pressure of having to do that. I don’t think it changes so much but, if you had a few years without the Champions League, then of course that is maybe something the club would have to look at.
“But the club is in a good financial position. So that wasn’t going to be necessary this year.
“Celtic is a wonderful club to play at, to develop.
“The type of player who will come here will be probably a developing player – or a player at the other end of his career who still wants the big pressure, the big game atmosphere. There’s nowhere better than here for that feeling. But, yeah, there is still talent we can hopefully bring in.”
