Rodgers isn’t giving up yet on Roberts

BRENDAN RODGERS’ hopes of persuading Patrick Roberts to return to Celtic were given a boost last night after OGC Nice opted to sign a homegrown alternative to the winger. Ahead of next week’s Champions League play-off with Astana, the Parkhead manager has intimated that he hoped to bring the 20-year-old Manchester City player back to Glasgow on another long-term loan or on a permanent basis. Rodgers’ chances of doing so looked increasingly unlikely yesterday morning after it emerged that the freespending French side were primed to table a deal of their own to take the player to the Cote D’Azur initially on a one-year loan. Last night, though, Nice moved swiftly to snare Monaco star Allan SaintMaximin — another prodigiously talented player in Roberts’ mould — to apparently kill off their interest in the young Englishman. With clubs from across Europe keen on the former Fulham player, Celtic still face a huge battle to land him for a second spell. Until any deal is finalised, though, Celtic assistant

manager Chris Davies is adamant that the door remains open for the winger. ‘I’ve seen things said about Patrick (below) over the last few weeks, that he’s been linked here and there, but I’ve not heard anything for definite,’ he said. ‘All I can say is that he was really good for us. We rate him very highly as a player. There is a home for him here, but ultimately, he belongs to another club. ‘It will be a collective decision by the player and the club as to where is best for him to go or whether he stays there.’ Celtic take on Kilmarnock in the Betfred Cup this evening with the row from Rodgers’ war of words with Hearts’ stand-in boss Jon Daly still simmering. The Celtic manager and the Tynecastle caretaker boss became embroiled in a heated exchange before and after their clubs’ Premiership curtain-raiser at Parkhead on Saturday. Rodgers lit the touch paper on Friday by claiming Ian Cathro’s philosophy on the game was at odds with Hearts’ recruitment and went on to cite the head coach being handed a note by director of football Craig Levein at Pittodrie as another example of him being undermined. Daly responded 24 hours later with a scathing attack on the Celtic manager, describing his comments as ‘absolutely disgusting’ and ‘disgraceful’ before accusing Rodgers of only publicly expressing opinions on the structures at other clubs in Scotland. Rodgers then bit back after his side had won the game 4-1, stating: ‘He (Daly) hasn’t become a manager yet, so wait until he becomes a manager and then he will know the rules of the game.’ Celtic No2 Davies, though, insisted Rodgers’ remarks had not been meant to be taken as a sweeping criticism of the way Hearts is being run. ‘My interpretation of it, when I read it, was that what Brendan was trying to do, was show support for another manager,’ insisted Davies. ‘Ian Cathro is a young manager, who Brendan doesn’t even know in terms of being a friend or anything like that. He was just trying to show his support. ‘The points he was making were more in relation to the style of play as opposed to recruitment. He was observing the team from another manager’s perspective. He was asked a question and he answered it. ‘The truth is that we are here at Celtic and we have more important things to worry about than management teams and other clubs. We will move on, there’s no issue. We focus all our energies on Kilmarnock.’ Asked if he felt Rodgers would continue to express his views on a wide range of issues when asked, Davies replied: ‘If you look back, Brendan has had a long management career, nearly ten years, and he’s not one who has volatile public relations with other managers. ‘He is a respectful guy and tries to answer the media in an open, respectful way. It’s not something Brendan is worried about or has any issues about. ‘Brendan was asked a question and answered it — that’s what happened. ‘I’ve worked with Brendan for a long, long time and he always bases his work around respect. ‘Respect for opposition managers, opposition players. So I think it’s been blown out of proportion a little bit.’ Tonight’s tie with Killie kicks off a hectic schedule for Celtic with domestic and European commitments likely to see Rodgers fully utilise his squad. ‘It’s something we’ll need to look at,’ added Davies. ‘In the next 20 days we’ve got six games, so we’ll have to make sure we get the right balance between winning the next game, which is always the most important thing, and being ready for upcoming games as well.’