Brendan Rodgers has sought to calm the noise surrounding Celtic’s transfer strategy, insisting that the club is ready to invest – but that the timing and recruitment process must improve if the Hoops are to compete at the highest level.
There has been a lot of dissatisfaction when it comes to transfers this summer, with the timing a major frustration. Had Celtic got signings in the door earlier this summer, fans might not have had to tune in to the Europa League draw on Friday, and instead be planning trips to some top destinations around Europe – in the elite competition.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s derby clash, Rodgers made a point of backing the board and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond, dismissing the idea that there’s any disconnect between the footballing and executive arms of the club.
Rodgers told Clyde 1 SSB: “As a football club, it’s not about investment either, because this club will invest.
“The club’s super well run, the investment is there, we need to look at the timing of the investment and does that go back to recruitment, does it go back to identification, all these different facets, but what I do know is we have to be better in it, because it’s not, this is a period of time, so it’s not about investment, the club will invest, we’ll see over the next few days, I’m pretty sure we’ll invest.
“But we want to get the timing of investment important, just to give us every single chance to be the best version of Celtic that we can be, but we’ve got a major owner in Dermot who’s a super intelligent guy, we’ve got a board of directors who bleed for the club, they want the club to do well, so everyone here is connected, it’s not,
“I hear all these stories of disconnection, and it can’t be further from the truth, every single guy from me, the board, Dermot, we love Celtic, but we want Celtic to be the very, very best, there’s a business model that you see works so well, I want to try and ensure the football model works equally as well, so it’s fluent and agile, we keep ahead of the game.
“So when we lose players we’re not in this cycle of waiting, waiting, waiting, standing still, and then missing out on competitions that we want to be in, so that’s the idea hopefully over the coming months.”
Fans have been making their thoughts on the board clear in recent weeks, but there doesn’t seem to be any movement from the hierarchy, who have overseen what can only be described as a failure of a summer.
There are a few days left to try to turn things around, and get some players in, but many already believe that the damage has been done.
