DEAL OR NO DEAL?
Rodgers will find out by Friday if Celtic board have listened to his anxious pleas for quality additions
IT’S a season-defining week, if ever there was. And, for all the sound and fury surrounding certain on-field challenges, action — or inaction — away from the pitch is where Celtic’s year will really take shape.
Because, as Brendan Rodgers is only too quick to acknowledge, the areas of his team most in need of strengthening for the campaign ahead remain unreinforced.
The much-discussed ‘quality’ sought by clubs the world over has proven elusive.
The Celtic boss was reminded yesterday that, just a matter of weeks ago, he had identified the need to find replacements for both Patrick Roberts and Stuart Armstrong — as well as adding one or two others.
Since then, only promising Australian international Daniel Arzani has been signed.
Asked if he still needed three or four to augment the group, then, Rodgers said simply: ‘Absolutely.
‘There’s no change. I’ve been pretty clear, since the end of last season, what we need. 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.
‘You need to replace what you lose in order to keep that strength — and that is competition.
‘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.
‘We brought that in with Edouard up front, so that area is good for us. So that’s where we’re at.’
Between now and Friday’s deadline, there will surely be business done at Celtic Park.
Rodgers has already gone public with his fears over the team sliding backwards, with missing out on John McGinn — now pulling up trees at Aston Villa — and a number of other highprofile players also causing unease in the ranks of supporters.
Reluctant to offer any guarantee about arrivals, he suggested a degree of budgetary restraint as he explained that names on his redrafted hit list — minus two of his three top targets — would all be ‘cheaper’ than record signing Odsonne Edouard.
Aberdeen central defender Scott McKenna, to pick a name at random, would fall into that category.
The former Liverpool manager is certain, however, that exiting the Champions League without reaching the lucrative group stage needn’t precipitate the sale of key players.
‘In terms of players being sold, no, I think that was the other key thing that the club have done very well, retaining the likes of Tom Rogic,’ said Rodgers.
‘That was important to us this summer, to retain the players we wanted to keep.
‘We still have work to do in the transfer market to give the group some strength and depth.
‘And no, the club don’t need to sell. 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.’ Whether or not Dedryck Boyata remains on the books by the end of the week remains a complicated issue, with Rodgers expressing uncertainty over how the situation will pan out.
He clearly has issues with the Belgian central defender’s commitment to the cause.
But he explained: ‘You can’t let one go unless you’ve got a replacement. You can’t give away an international centre-half if there’s not actually one who’s equal or better to come in.
‘There will be cries of: “Take the money — it’s the last year of his contract” which is great but, if you don’t have one to come in, it’s not a very good strategy.’
Even if Boyata somehow remains at the club, it’s hard to imagine Hoops fans throwing their arms open in welcome for a player effectively accused of ducking Champions League duty because he’s been trying to work his release.
‘For any club and any supporter, commitment is everything,’ said Rodgers, when asked about the subject. ‘You always have to measure that. For any player, it’s an obligation, not a choice. You’ve got to be committed when you play. These are all things you have to take into account.
‘I’ve worked with players before whose future has been in doubt and there have been question marks over them — but supporters take them in and respect them for giving everything.’
Invited to offer his own thoughts on Boyata’s commitment level, Rodgers said: ‘I’ve got nothing to say on that.
‘Dedryck made a choice of where he was at and he’s been clear with the club and myself.
‘My focus is really on players that are ready and fit to play — and to try to get them in the best condition we possibly can.’
With Jozo Simunovic awaiting a
scan on the ankle injury suffered in Thursday night’s 1-1 draw against Suduva, Celtic are again short of numbers at the back.
Given the manager’s public criticism of his team’s ability to cope with basic set-piece threats, again evident in the home side’s equaliser in Lithuania, it can’t be much fun manning that particular line at the moment.
‘You can’t dress it up,’ said Rodgers. ‘I have always been open with the players and I haven’t told any of you guys anything that I haven’t said to them first.
‘It was poor and we need to get back to the drawing board. It is just that bit of responsibility and a desire to keep the ball out of the net.
‘Is it a mental thing? It can be. You have seen it before with teams that are labelled vulnerable at set-pieces — and then all of a sudden there is a nervousness around the set-piece. ‘No matter how we play, I’ve reiterated often enough that our first job is to defend. And, if you analyse the goals we concede, they’re from what you’d consider to be the simplest of moments in games, where the ball is static or with not a great deal of movement.’
Hamilton at home tomorrow will be made more testing by Celtic’s travel demands, with most players not home until around four on Friday morning.
Thursday’s return leg against Suduva is hardly terrifying, courtesy of that away goal. And then? Oh yes. Rangers at Celtic Park a week tomorrow.
‘It is a great week for us,’ said Rodgers. ‘It was always in the calendar as a good way to finish what was a busy period for us.
‘It is three home games now. It is a chance to get points in the league and get through into the group stage of what is still a very good competition and a good footballing experience for us.
‘And then we have a game against one of our major rivals at the end of it all. So it is a great week.’