The Hoops manager has made no secret of his wish to bolster his team, but he remains upbeat ahead of the match against Kairat.
Although Brendan Rodgers acknowledges that his Celtic team is not yet prepared for the Champions League, they are powerful enough to eliminate Kairat Almaty.
The Hoops will play the Kazakhstan champions in tomorrow’s or tonight’s £40 million play-off match after failing to find top-tier replacements for injured Jota, Nicolas Kuhn, and Kyogo.
Although the 38-year-old free agent is reportedly eager to move to Parkhead, Rodgers refused to rule out partnering with Leicester City icon Jamie Vardy.
Prior to the crucial Kairat match, the Celtic manager acknowledged that he wished to have more players on board. However, he is certain that there is sufficient quality on board to complete the task.
Regarding Vardy, Rodgers remarked, “Listen, I would not speak about any individual player.” Naturally, I’ve had a great working relationship with Jamie.
“He was brilliant for me in my time at Leicester. However, there have been a lot of names mentioned. However, I wouldn’t tell anyone.
Although Rodgers is concentrating on Kairat, he acknowledged that Celtic would need to prepare for the group stage. First and foremost, we want to qualify, of course,” he stated. And I’m sure we can accomplish that if we have this combination of guys.
“Listen, it’s obvious that we would need to strengthen the squad going forward.”
After a faltering summer in the transfer market, Rodgers is reluctant to toss the baby out of the pram, and he has pushed his team to block out the outside noise throughout the match.
“No, listen, I have experience,” he said. I know where we are since I’ve been here long enough. Since I have little influence over a lot of stuff, I won’t be really upset about it.
However, I have complete authority over our players, assisting them in becoming the finest versions of themselves and overseeing their readiness.
“I have received everything from those players there just now. Therefore, I won’t put myself in a position where I appear or feel frustrated since that will affect my players. Additionally, those lads have been exceptionally talented.
Therefore, we’re expecting that it will be fantastic whether we get someone in or not. Otherwise, we’ll use what we have. We’ll make every effort to make sure every detail is appropriate for the game.
The ultimate goal is to get Celtic back into the Champions League, so we’ll see whether we can do that.
You approach it with a little more philosophy. It’s crucial because players can feel that emotional connection.
“Not only Celtic, but the game as a whole is now the subject of even more commotion. However, it is evident that experience is a huge asset.
It’s comprehension. This is something I’ve been doing for a long time. With the players in your squad, you have some control.
“We must, of course, exert pressure. As I’ve previously stated, I want Celtic to live in the greatest environment both on and off the field.
“And it’s not just players either. It has to do with infrastructure. That relates to the academy.
That’s what Celtic is all about. Implementing the finest possible operation. And I am aware that success on the field will always be the focus of that.
Everything else falls into place when you succeed on the field.
“You would like to think that you can occasionally be a little more philosophical.”
“After going through qualification phases, two of my three experiences have been centered around an incredibly strong first leg (against Astana and Hapoel Beer Sheva).”
We scored five goals in each of the games. We find it quite challenging to play against because of the attack and intent in the game. Hopefully, we will then be able to gain an advantage going into the second leg.
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