Brendan Rodgers has laid out his recruitment expectations- which seems to be the polar opposite of last summer’s horrendous Mark Lawwell Project Drive.
After initially praising the brilliant work of the Chairman’s son Rodgers suddenly realised that he had been handed a job lot of players well short of Champions League standards. Only Luis Palma made any sort of positive contribution before the European adventure ended with tame 2-0 defeat away to Lazio.
Last summer all of the talk around Rodgers’ return centred around making progress in Europe but after being drawn in a favourable group the hoops came up well short with another pre-Christmas exit inevitable from the moment they crashed 6-0 away to Atletico Madrid.
When it came to the business end of the season Lawwell’s Projects were ditched as Rodgers galvanised what was left of Ange Postecoglou’s squad into winning the SPFL and Scottish Cup.
So far this summer transfer activity has been at a snails pace, one project was signed in Viljami Sinisalo and quickly paired up with the experienced Kasper Schmeichel which finally seemed like a signing strategy.
A deal for Paulo Bernardo was finally agreed but other than that there has been no additions to the Celtic squad with Sead Haksabanovic, Oh Hyeon-gyu and Bosun Lawal moving on.
Supporters hoped to have starters signed up for the first day of pre-season training, for the first pre-season match but with the competitive action underway the squad that finished last season is weaker, highlighted by having one left-back and one centre-forward.
Time is running out to have players integrated for the Champions League opener in mid-September but Rodgers is in no mood to compromise his expectations and demands.
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You mention European football. The club has a large surplus of cash in the bank, and if we’re going to strengthen and have a real crack at the Champions League then sure it’s now or never this season. Is that right?
I’ve always said that recruitment is vital for success on the football pitch. Bringing in the players that allow you to elevate the game. Especially when you go up in the Champions League then the recruitment of players is crucial. Especially in the big clubs, if you don’t get it right then you have very little chance to put it right.
If you don’t bring in a player that suits your style and is suitable for the football that you want to play – improving that player when there’s very little time is very difficult.
That’s why you want to get in not just a player but the right player who can elevate you and the team’s game and that he’s a sufficient level. It will allow you to improve. That’s absolutely key. I’m looking at by the end of the window for signings, and that is when you can judge.
I know that supporters want to see that team on the pitch, and as managers, we want the players in quickly and integrated. At the end of it, if we can get to the end of August and have a stronger squad than what we finished with last season, it will still be a successful window for us.
The point you make is absolutely correct – to have success on the football pitch, you need to recruit, and you need to recruit the best possible players you can, if you want to achieve in European football.
Talks towards signing Adam Idah on a permanent basis seem to be in the final stages but like Bernardo that deal restores the squad to the levels of last season and could have been tied up before the squad left to play three matches in the USA.
The European ambitions that Rodgers held on his Celtic return appear to have been replaced with the more pragmatic task of succeeding in Scotland and hoping for the best when it comes to stepping up into the Champions League.
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