New football season guide
Rodgers targets four more players
BRENDAN Rodgers believes he needs four new players before the closure of the transfer window – with 21-year-old Manchester United defender Paddy McNair high on the wanted list of the Celtic manager.
However, while Rodgers will look to bolster his squad, he could also be another body down after Nir Bitton limped out of the Aviva Stadium in Dublin last night with what appears to be a medial ligament injury. The midfielder is now a doubt ahead of Wednesday night’s second leg Uefa Champions League qualifier against FC Astana.
“Our only negative was the injury to Nir Bitton which looks a nasty one,” Rodgers said. “We’ll assess it in the next 24 hours. There is a concern but we will see how serious it is.”
Meanwhile, having had an opportunity to assess the Celtic squad over the last six weeks, Rodgers will look to capture more signings before the closure of the transfer window.
“Probably ideally I would like another four,” said the Parkhead manager. “We shall see. It just takes time. I understand that but in terms of assessing the squad before I came in and likewise having been in now for six weeks, that is what I would say we would be at.”
Celtic have been frustrated in their attempts to bring in Scott Sinclair, with four bids knocked back by Aston Villa for the player.
“Scotty is a young, talented lad that I know really well but he is still an Aston Villa player. Until anything is done, there is nothing to say,” said Rodgers.
He was similarly coy on the interest in McNair, with his club manager Jose Mourinho believing he would benefit from a loan deal.
“I can’t deny or say yes or no because there have been so many players who have been thrown our way or linked with Celtic and I can’t comment on everyone.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers was effusive in his praise for Leigh Griffiths after he scored in the 3-1 defeat by Barcelona.
“Leigh is a terrific striker,” he said. “I know that even from the short time I’ve worked with him, he has a natural instinct. At whatever level he plays, he’ll get goals. It’s been nice for him to get them in the qualifiers because I don’t think he’d scored in Europe before.”
THE sweeping stands of the impressive Aviva stadium justifiably cause a tremor of anxiety for any vertiginous punter. Celtic, though, can ill-afford to suffer a nosebleed this season as they seek to scale European heights that have eluded them for the past two campaigns.
They went toe-to-toe with a Barcelona side who are gently easing their way back into their boots last night in Dublin, the kind of challenge the Parkhead side are eager to sample for real when the group stages of the Champions League gets under way.
The thing, is, however, going any distance without the proper resources inevitably leads to complications. Celtic’s current defensive frailties suggest that if they are serious about making their mark this term on a European landscape that has eluded them of late, there is a requirement for the correct equipment.
This one was always going to be tough against an impressive Barcelona side, match sharp or not, but it was a task made all the more arduous when Celtic reverentially stood off of Arda Turan, allowing him to casually open the scoring with a sumptuous 20-yard strike after just 11 minutes.
The lampooning of Efe Ambrose has long since passed the stage where it is as difficult to observe as his on-field displays. Continuing with the Nigerian international seems like an act of gratuitous cruelty – for supporters as well as the defender himself.
Ambrose netted an own-goal seconds after Leigh Griffiths had restored parity in this game and was then culpable for the third when Luis Suarez, who lasted for little more than an hour of this contest, put the ball through his legs to give Munir the easy task of tapping the ball in.
With Erik Sviatchenko, Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic currently sharing a treatment room at Lennoxtown and Kolo Toure in a race against the clock to have some form of match fitness ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg, third-round Champions League qualifier against FC Astana, there are significant issues for Brendan Rodgers to get his head around.
Last night, Rodgers’ thinking on the team he has inherited would have been confirmed; they remain one-dimensional at times and that carelessness at the back, that lack of concentration will be deadly against teams who are swift of feet and mind.
Celtic’s best passages of play came from Patrick Roberts, with the 19-year-old winger capable of making the kind of movement that allowed the Parkhead side to fashion a couple of decent chances in the opening period.
The winger gave the Catalan side a sharp wake-up call just 17 seconds into the game when he sent an effort whizzing past the post, and in this kind of company he did his burgeoning reputation no harm at all.
Griffiths benefited from a moment of madness in the Barca defence when Jose Martinez clumsily gifted the striker the ball, but by and large the Catalan side were polished enough that Celtic found themselves chasing shadows for much of the game.
There is, of course, an inevitability about that given the vast chasm between teams are financially.
However, for Celtic to look to have any kind of modest success in Europe this season, it will be imperative to get the best out of the collective group. The early indications are that it will be their soft centre that serves to undermine the cause.
Long-term, Toure will add experience and some stability, but whatever happens on Wednesday night against Astana, there will be a gamble from Rodgers. He either has to pitch in Toure, who is clearly not match fit, or else stick with the unpredictability of Ambrose, whose confidence has been entirely shorn after recent events. Given the magnitude of what is at stake, it is a massive call for the Celtic manager.
The tie is tilted in their favour at the moment courtesy of the away goal, but Astana showed in that opening half against in Kazakhstan that they were capable of hurting the Parkhead side.
Two years ago, at this stage of the tournament, Celtic took Maribor back to the Glasgow following a similar scoreline only to lose the second leg by a solitary goal. They may hold the edge, but one goal will dramatically alter the complexion of the game.
In Dublin last night, Celtic closed out the game with a back four of players still wet behind the ears: Kristoffer Ajer, Jamie McCart, Anthony Ralston and Darnell Fisher were the defensive options employed against Barcelona as the game ebbed out, their youth and dearth of experience underlining the lack of alternative options available to Rodgers.
The pace and tone of the game had changed by that time, with both teams fielding different teams for the second period. While the switches interrupted the flow and disrupted the tempo, it did not alter the pattern of Barcelona dominating and Celtic chasing. There are lessons that have to be learned if Celtic are to move forward this season in Europe. where the
Celtic’s carelessness at the back will be deadly against teams who are swift of feet and mind