Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Celtic boss: Fans deserve signings
BR E N DA N Rodgers insists Ce lt ic ’s recruitment strategy has to improve as he looks to strengthen the squad in the final week of the transfer window.
Before yesterday’s 3-0 William Hill Premiership win at St Mirren, the Hoops boss revealed that he expects midfielder Matt O’riley to complete his move to Brighton in the coming days.
That transfer will reportedly be worth at least £25 million to the Parkhead club.
After the convincing victory, and ahead of the transfer window closing on Friday, Rodgers was asked about recruitment at the cash-rich Scottish champions, who have signed goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo this summer while striker Adam Idah and midfielder Paulo Bernardo have returned following loan spells.
Rodgers, who hopes at least some of the O’riley transfer fee will be used to strengthen the squad, believes the Celtic board owes it to the supporters to build on current success.
He said: “There are a number of things I won’t go into here. But it’s definitely something, having come back in and gone through three windows now, we have to put right as a football club.
“We shouldn’t have been getting into this last week in the position we’re in. That’s the reality. However, that’s something for us for after this window.
“As I said, we’ll get the players in that we want. We don’t need to manufacture our own stress.”
And as they prepare to host Rangers on Sunday, he added: “It’s a very important week for us. In terms of the context of next week, we’re in a really, really good place.
“But over the context of the season, it’s really important for us. We want to develop, we want to improve. We can’t be happy just to make our money and build our pot, because the bottom line is on the pitch.
“The supporters pay the money. I look back to the Covid times – the Celtic supporters sold the stadium out with season tickets and they weren’t allowed in it. So we have the duty to put the best team on the pitch.
“That’s what we’ll do and look to do. If we can do it by Friday, strengthen the squad, we’ll be in a really, really good place. But we want to strengthen and have that depth.
“It’s taken a lot longer than I would have liked as the football manager. That’s my brutally honest answer on it.”