Q: You sympathise with the supporters’ frustrations. They just want the best for the club and they want to see the club move forward. And it seems like there’s an alignment between what you’re saying, what the supporters want, what the captain’s saying, getting them in early, getting them in at crucial times. And then there’s a sort of roadblock that supporters can’t understand. They just see things not happening, and they see the fallout from that and they get frustrated themselves.
Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, 100%. Like the other night, I walked down to see the supporters before the game and and I don’t normally do that because, you know, I’m normally inside. But I saw a 77-year-old guy standing on the side of the stand the other day, looking in, ready to watch the game. And I’m looking at him and thinking, “Christ, this poor guy has traveled.” He’s probably got loads of connections to get to the game. It’s our duty to make sure the likes of him and all our supporters are served the best possible team we can. So, I know that better than anyone. That’s my job to try and make sure that we can in the future be better equipped to give the best possible team on the pitch. And like I say, Dermot wants that, the board will want that. But we have to find a way to make it happen. Otherwise, it’s absolutely okay saying what you want to do. But you’ve got to act on it. You’ve got to make it happen.”
Kieran Tierney of Celtic Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock
Q: Tierney and Nygren started on Tuesday. It can be done? It just has to be done more. It’s not impossible?
Brendan Rodgers: “No, it’s clearly possible. Very possible. You can get players in. Recruitment and the signing of players never stops. You know, your January window, you’re already planning for the summer because you’ve an idea of who might go, who might move on. And then your work begins then. You don’t just get to the end of the season, have a holiday and then come back and start your preparation. It all has to be fluid and and the teams that are best organised and the clubs that are best organised will do that. You know, the work will be done. You know that you want value. You also know where you have to get your best team.
“So, it’s all fluid. It’s absolutely possible. It can be done, and like I say, we want to make sure in the future it is. Otherwise, you’ll continue to stop-start. And that’s been the frustration over the game the other night. So, it’s a collective responsibility. We’re all responsible in our own ways. We’ll have to we have to be better at it. And we have to then move on and make this season a really good season.”
Callum McGregor of Celtic applauds travelling fans after the full time whistle Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock
Q: Is Sunday a chance for the players who are here? I think Callum kind of took responsibility in the week and said the players who are here are responsible for what happened the other night. Is Sunday a chance to kind of, I don’t know, pay that 77-year-old guy back a little bit by getting the win?
Brendan Rodgers: “We’re all wanting that. You know, and obviously a game against theRangers is always a game that every Celtic supporter in the world will want to see their team win. So, there’s no greater game to come back to after that, to then go and play. And domestically, we’ve made a good start. It’s a shame the two 0-0 draws have sort of put a real dampener on it. But we’re going to this game and we want to continue with that good form.”
