“Sack the board normally means sack the manager,” Brendan Rodgers

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The Celtic Star

·21 August 2025

“Sack the board normally means sack the manager,” Brendan Rodgers

Everything that was said at Brendan Rodgers’ post match media conference at Celtic Park last night after Celtic were held to a goalless draw by Kairat Almaty in the UEFA Champions League playoff first leg…

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic appeals during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: If you got that goal, James Forrest denied by the combination of the keeper and the post. If you’d got that, it could be sitting here and having a very different conversation but ultimately must have been frustrating overall?

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Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, because of course you want to take the advantage, but I’ve also been here before when we’ve drawn nil-nil in a qualification game against Rosenborg. They were a good side and we were going to there to have to qualify and we did do. We played very well out there and won the game. There’s no doubt we can go there and win. Of course you’d want to have taken an advantage with you, but it’s still very much in the balance.”

Q: The fans were pretty vocal at the end in their displeasure, their disappointment. Is that a justifiable reaction in your view?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well listen, what I do know is over many years that sack the board normally means sack the manager. It’s normally the manager that goes when that starts to be sung. But no, listen, I think I can only really look at the players that we have here and the performance. We’ve known for a long time what we’ve needed as a squad, so I don’t want to go into that. I can only concentrate on what we have here.

Peter Lawwell and Michael Nicholson watch on as Celtic draw 0-0 with Kairat at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-off match, worth over £40m to the winners.

“Of course, at the end of the game, we’re having to shuffle things about to try and make it work and playing players out of position. But the players’ endeavor in the second half was really good, but at this level it’s more than that. Hopefully we can show that. The boys are a great bunch of lads, really honest. They’ve started the season well. Defensively, they’ve been strong, but tonight we just, offensively, we just couldn’t show those moments of quality to breakthrough.”

Q: Brendan, given that frustration in the stands, that’s something you don’t want to fester. What needs to happen on and off the field to make sure that that doesn’t fester and the frustration doesn’t build?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think that we need to improve the squad. There’s clarity around that for a long time and we see that, you know, I think supporters see that. We certainly do in football. We need to improve. And then from that, then this is a performance club. This is a club that’s to perform. And that starts on the field. And you do that with getting the very best players you possibly can to allow you to perform. It’s getting performance on the pitch, a style and a type of football that excites supporters, and that’s what this club is used to. We know that, and hopefully between now and the end of the window, we can get that. And then that’ll support us going through the rest of the season.”

Q: But you knew you had this game, Brendan. Does that add to the frustration that this was always potentially going to be a tough tie whoever you got and maybe being in a better place going into it?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, but I can’t answer that because it’s not my decision in the end. I can prepare the team with the staff, and the players that are here have been fantastic over pre-season. We were all clear on what we need to improve, and for whatever reason, we haven’t been able to do that. Now we’re in this position and we have to accept it and not dwell on it and try and come through it for Saturday and for Tuesday.”

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Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Do you feel you have enough to be able to do that then? There’s enough game-changers in that team to get you through to the Champions League group phase?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, well listen, whether I think it or not, we have to do it. But I do believe that we’ll be better than what we were in the first half. The second half you see we dominated and arrived into a lot of good areas, but just that final ball, a little bit of finesse and that little extra bit of quality that’s needed, as you come through the levels, that allows you to break teams down. That’s something we’ll look at and analyse and hopefully correct when we get out there.”

Q: You said, Brendan, that you need to accept it and move on. Should the fans accept it? Considering the money that’s at this club, the amount of times you’ve sat here in this position at this time of the year saying that you need players, and now the playoff tie hasn’t gone the way you want. Should fans accept how the club’s been run at this point?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well listen, that’s not for me to answer. I can answer for the team and what we’re doing. I think we showed last season the hint, like I’ve said before, of what we can do. But that’s all, that will always be based around the level of players that you have. And I believe that with a level of player that we can really push forward. But if we don’t have that for whatever reason, we have to try and find a way to win here and to qualify. And up until tonight, as I said, the team have been moving along well. First half, I wasn’t happy with the first half at all, just slow and waiting on the game. And like I said, we’re the guys that can only change that future and that responsibility now is with us to do that. And for me to find a way to get us through the next leg. It was a wee bit messy towards the end, but that’s not the players’ fault. We’re playing players out of position and trying to work the team to try and stimulate a goal and players maybe playing out of position a wee bit, but that’s what we’re at. But of course, our job is always to entertain our supporters.”

Alistair Johnston of Celtic is stretchered off after sustaining an injury during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: I appreciate it’s probably early, but in terms of Alistair Johnston, it didn’t look great. How is the player and is there any sort of prognosis as to how bad it could be?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I haven’t spoken to the medical guys yet, it looks like a hamstring injury, which is disappointing. But yeah, I’ll get more in the morning.”

Q: Brendan, obviously Adam Idah got hooked at half-time, kind of struggling half the first half and maybe struggling at the start of the season as well. Is there a way to build him for him to get a wee bit of his confidence or what’s the situation with Adam at the moment?

Adam Idah of Celtic vies with Aleksandr Martynovich of Kairat during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, there’s, listen, there’s no rocket science in it. It’s all hard work. It’s all preparation. That will obviously lead to confidence and then you normally succeed then as a player from that. So yeah, I didn’t quite go for him first half. I wanted a little bit more activity in and around the box because I felt that we could get up there. And yeah, so yeah, he’s, Adam’s a good boy, he’s an honest boy. Hasn’t quite started how he would have liked. But in games like these here, I can’t afford to wait. And that’s why I made the change at half time.”

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Q: Just coming back to kind of some of the kind of fan unrest and displeasure about the kind of activity in the transfer window. A lot of these questions that you rightly say you can’t answer yourself, but you’re having to answer these questions on a weekly basis. Is it starting to get a point that it’s not really fair that you’re having to answer these questions when it’s probably for the guys who are being targeted by the fans at the moment?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah listen, I accept the responsibility as the manager of the club. I’m just, I can’t tell you anything that which I would like to, but yeah, there’s only so many ways I can dress up that we haven’t got any players in. But I accept the responsibility to stand here, or sit here, sorry, and tell you where we’re at. And no, it’s listen, the privilege is mine to be here and if it’s my role to do that, then of course I will do that. So yeah, that’s what we’re at.”

Q: Again, Brendan, forgive me because I do appreciate it’s difficult for you to speak about it, but at the same time, is it fair to say that this is a situation that you feared, that you envisaged, that you maybe warned was going to be a possibility if things didn’t happen as maybe you hoped they would?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it was pretty clear. I think you don’t need to look into the future too far. You know these games are tough games and you know that you want to have your best players in and have players in as quick as you can to tackle these sorts of situations. So yeah, but it is what it is. And I just have to accept where it’s at. And we shall, as I said, get ready now for Saturday and then get ready for the long haul Sunday and really try and get through on Tuesday.”

Benjamin Nygren of Celtic and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers are see during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round First Leg match between Celtic and Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: In terms of next week, what’s it going to take from your point of view? You’re saying about the team being quite passive tonight at the start. What do you think it’s going to take over in Almaty next week?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think the beauty is it’s a one-off game now. You know, sometimes over two games, they come and you see they sit in and they defend quite well and get one or two little moments. For us, we weren’t quite quick enough, but we now know it’s a one-off game. We know we can win. We know we can win there and we know we can play better.

“For sure, that’s especially on the first half showing. So I think we can, absolutely, I think we can go out there and win, but we’re just going to have to, as I said, not wait on the game. And I said to the players, you know, at halftime, I was saying that I’ve heard before, if you’re going to miss the bus, make sure you run when you miss it. So don’t be walking. And for us, whatever happens in this next game now, we have to go and give everything and make sure we’re running. If it doesn’t happen for us, we’ve given everything. And I thought we wasted 45 minutes tonight, which has surprised me a little bit because up until that point of the season, we’ve been good. So we have to correct that. And we’ll start that on Saturday and then get ourselves ready and then it’s a one-off game and I’ve got every confidence that we can do that and win.”

Q: Brendan, if you do it next week, will that be one of your more satisfying results in the circumstances?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I would say going into these sort of games, this is probably the lightest that we’ve been in certain key areas of the of the pitch. You can see over the course of the season so far, we haven’t given away a great deal. Defended well, defended strong. But of course, goals win games and that’s the area of the pitch where we’ve been we’ve been short. And it’s more just in terms of freshness and energy and that bit of quality. We’re having to get midfield players out there and players playing two or three positions and then it can become a little bit messy. But yeah, listen, we’ve started the season well. Wee bit of a blip tonight in terms of the result we wanted, but I’ve got every confidence we can go out there and win.”

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Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Christopher McKay watch on as Celtic draw 0-0 with Kairat at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League play-off match, worth over £40m to the winners.

Q: Brendan, you said yesterday about not having the control over, you know, the time scale of bringing players in. Is that something you’d like to have more control over?

Brendan Rodgers: “Listen, I just want what’s the best for Celtic. I don’t necessarily need control. If there’s alignment and everything is aligned and I want what’s best for the football team, that’s where my strengths are. And like I said, this is a performance club. This is where you need to perform. And for that, it’s getting players in, getting the team prepared to the best level that you possibly can and then going on journeys that can excite supporters and create great memories. That’s why I’m here, in order to do that. So it’s not about control. I just want what is the best for Celtic.”

Q: Does it feel like that alignment is there at the moment?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well listen, at this moment in time, the focus is on the team. Focus is on us getting through into the group stages. And that’s my only focus.”

Let’s hear what you have to say about this worrying situation at Celtic. It’s like we are back to the summer 2018 window all over again and at that stage we were going out of the Champions League to AEK Athens while effectively the manager’s time at the club was at the beginning of the end stage and he’d be away by the start of February.

Rodgers later regretted the way he left and of course Peter Lawwell was delighted in that not only had he got rid of Rodgers with no compensation payable but he also collected £7.5m from Leicester City. This time Brendan won’t leave until the summer – unless they sack him and if Celtic fail to make the Champions League next Tuesday they may well do just that.

Your thoughts please…

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