“I’m not clever enough to say the same thing 20 times differently,” Brendan Rodgers | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers remains ‘hopeful’ that there will be some white smoke from the Parkhead boardroom before the Champions League play-off deadline on Tuesday next week ahead of the match against Kairat Almaty with just the small sum of £40m at stake…

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

“Hopefully would be the answer to that,” the Celtic manager said today when asked if he expected any new arrivals ahead of the tie with the champions of Kazakhstan, with the first leg taking place at Celtic Park next Wednesday night.

SLOVAN BRATISLAVA – KAIRAT ALMATY Players of Kairat celebrate during third qualifying round of UEFA Champions League football match between SK Slovan Bratislava and Kairat Almaty. Bratislava, Slovakia, August 12, 2025. IMAGO / Branislav Racko

“We have right up until the day before the game to change our squad, so hopefully that can be the case,” Rodgers explained as he spoke to the media ahead of the Premier Sports tie against Falkirk tomorrow evening as Friday Night football returns to Paradise for the first time in a decade.

“I think we’ve said it all along, and I don’t want to dwell too much on it, but it’s been constant, and I’m not clever enough to say the same thing 20 times differently. So we hope that we can improve it, and hopefully by then we will do,” Brendan said, seemingly detached from the process and the consternation that the lack of quality additions has caused among a large section of the Celtic support.

Aberdeen v Celtic – Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers during the Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Celtic at Pittodrie on 10 August 2025. Photo Stephen Dobson PSI (IMAGO)

The manager has of course previously made clear his own position stating ahead of the season opener against St Mirren that if the club fails to show ambition he will not stay on beyond the end of his three year deal next summer to be a caretaker.

Yet Rodgers made it clear that he wants to stay on but only of the ambition is there from the boardroom. Since then not a single penny has been spent in the transfer market and we’re now going into the £40m Champions League qualifier with a forward line that has failed to find the back of the net in the two matches played so far this campaign.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is seen during the pre-season friendly match between Celtic and Newcastle United at Celtic Park on July 19, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Listen, I’m philosophical about it. I think that the club has always notoriously done business towards the end of the window. I’ve said it before, I think that all managers and coaches want the players in as soon as we can, because pre-season is for preparation, and you want to be as prepared as you possibly can be,” Brendan said.

“But what has gone unnoticed a little bit is that we’ve made a really good start. We’ve had two really good wins, played well. I know we’ll get better, but I can’t knock the performance over the two games to get the results. Sometimes that has been clouded a wee bit, and all this negativity around the transfers,” the Celtic manager noted.

What has not been clouded is the concern over Yang on the right wing, especially after his poor performance against St Mirren. Or Adam Idah failing to impress – to say the least – in his two starts. Or James Forrest being the only alternative. Or Daizen Maeda having to play on the wing rather than through the middle as there’s no alternative due to Jota’s long term injury (that happened in April).

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers with Adam Idah at full-time. Final score Aberdeen 0 Celtic 2. Scottish Premiership, Pittodrie. Stuart Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Rodgers added: “So I’m really just trying to focus on the guys that are here. Lots of stuff going on in the background, and then hopefully we can come out of the end of the market in a good place.”

Asked about the rumours linking Daizen Maeda with a move away from the club and for an update on Maeda’s reported contract extension that the club were apparently about to offer the Celtic talisman, Rodgers reckoned that there was nothing happening regarding transfer as far as he knew.

Daizen Maeda of Celtic during the Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Celtic at Pittodrie on 10 August 2025. Photo Stephen Dobson PSI-IMAGO

“Daizen’s obviously got a couple of years (left on his current contract). There have been discussions and that going on in the background but I don’t have any sort of updates on it,” the Celtic manager said.

“He’s been here four years, he’s progressed every year he’s been here and finished off a brilliant season for him. I think what you always get with Daizen is 100 percent. He’s not quite up to full speed yet but no, I don’t know of any developments on that.”

Here’s Brendan Rodgers media conference ahead of the Celtic v Falkirk match at Celtic Park tomorrow evening in the Premier Sports League Cup….

More Stories / Latest News

“I’m not clever enough to say the same thing 20 times differently,” Brendan Rodgers

Aug 14 2025, 16:33

Celtic target Michel-Ange Balikwisha back scoring for Antwerp

Aug 14 2025, 14:55

UEFA’s political banner is a start, now they must ‘Show Israel the Red Card’

Aug 14 2025, 12:47

CELTIC IN THE EIGHTIES BY DAVID POTTER, FOREWORD BY DANNY McGRAIN is published by Celtic Star Books on the fifth day of September. You can pre-order now to guarantee your copy which will be signed by Danny McGrain, with just a limited number of signed copies still available, although they are selling very quickly.

Missing Attachment

Missing Attachment

And there’s another great benefit for readers who pre-order their copy of Celtic in the Eighties. You will also receive a copy of an earlier David Potter book – Celtic’ Icicle – Alec McNair – which you’ll receive for FREE when you pre-order with Celtic in the Eighties. So you get two great Celtic books by David Potter and better still the postage is only charged on one. Click on the image below to order. (Just order Celtic in the Eighties and we’ll automatically add a copy of the Alec McNair book).

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

Help raise funds for Celtic Youth Academy by playing the Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery and you could win up to £25,000. The lottery is £1 per week. Click on image to join.