'It didn't make me think to walk away, I just felt empty...' Celtic boss Rodgers issues brutally honest verdict on club's failings

There have been occasions in the past when Brendan Rodgers’ diplomat skills would have put the late Henry Kissinger in the shade.

Seemingly capable of walking through a minefield while blindfolded, the Celtic manager’s media conferences are often a study in taking the heat out of a situation.

For the larger than normal press corps assembled at Lennoxtown yesterday, though, there was to be no damp squib. This was 32 minutes of rockets and sparklers.

The best was saved for last. Not only did the manager accuse the person who briefed against him to a newspaper last weekend of being guilty of a ‘cowardly act’, he stated that he felt it was incumbent on the club to hunt them down. It was an extraordinary finale to an already remarkable exchange.

In the fortnight since he’d last spoken, Rodgers had seen his plea for reinforcements in the final hours of the transfer window largely ignored.

He stated categorically that Adam Idah would not be allowed to leave until a replacement was in the building. While Kelechi Iheanacho did join as a free agent on the Tuesday, Idah’s departure for Swansea plainly undermined him. After such an abysmal window, many in his position would have thrown in the towel.

‘No, it didn’t make me think to walk away,’ Rodgers said. ‘I just felt empty, if I’m honest.

‘It was a long process and there’s that weight that’s on your shoulders when you’re here, carrying everything.

‘So, then when it doesn’t quite go the way you want, then of course you have an empty feeling. But then you know as one of the leaders of the club, and particularly the manager of the team, you’ve got to get your head around it. And you’ve got to deal with it.

‘Then you’ve got to try and maximise the best of what you have. That’s what I’ve done all my career.’

Rodgers isn’t the only one who’s determined to fight. The level of anger among the fanbase was already high after the board failed to adequately back the manager ahead of the Champions League play-off against Kairat Almaty.

A defeat on penalties to the men from Kazakhstan came after the side failed to score in 210 minutes.

After another toothless display at Ibrox, the need for multiple offensive reinforcements could not have been clearer. By the time the window closed, however Sebastian Tounekti was the only addition with an SOS sent for Iheanacho.

Not for the first time, a board which claim to aspire to be world class in everything they do look incapable of running a bath. Come Sunday at Rugby Park, they’ll know all about it.

‘I’m not here to tell supporters how to feel,’ said Rodgers of the planned protests. ‘They feel frustrated. They will have every right to feel that.’

The transfer window may already have been enough for the rank and file to dig out the pitchforks. The release of last Saturday’s now infamous statement sealed the deal.

Evidently deaf to the fury which had erupted in the preceding week, an anonymous 1030-word release offered not a trace of contrition.

Instead, it sought to blame everyone from selling clubs, Uefa’s financial rules to the media for a cash-rich club failing to function as it should.

A litany of half-baked excuses, the statement only served to mobilise thousands of supporters who’ve now arrived at the conclusion that the club’s custodians are no longer fit for purpose.

‘They’re not my questions to answer,’ Rodgers said of its content.

‘I’m pretty sure that some of the guys, if the chief executive or the chairman were sat here then, I’m sure they’d be speaking. But they’re not, and they’re not my questions to answer.’

He accepted, though, that the words themselves itself spoke to a wider issue of poor communications at the club.

‘I’ve always believed that the quality of your life is the quality of your communication,’ he said.

‘Especially in this modern world where there’s so many avenues open to communication. After this summer, I think that’s something that most definitely the club will look at.’

While the tone of the statement felt like the equivalent of the board sticking their fingers in their ears, Rodgers feels the club’s shortcomings in recruitment don’t need to be spelled out to anyone.

‘The business model of the club is highly successful,’ he stressed. ‘What we have to marry that in with is the football squad and how we build the squad.

‘And not just investment, but timing of investment. So, there’s absolutely no doubt that needs to be looked at, because it was pretty clear what we needed. And not just needed, but needed early.

‘We weren’t ready. It’s as simple as that. So, how can we learn from that?’

His fervent hope is that those who failed to deliver mend their ways.

Despite the failings of the summer, he doesn’t discount the possibility of yet extending his stay beyond 2026 — although he also told Sky Sports in a separate interview that he would need assurances from the board if he wasn’t to walk away.

‘I want Celtic to be the very best that it can be,’ said Rodgers. ‘My ambition is for the club, for our supporters, for the players.

‘I’m speaking to Michael [Nicholson, chief executive] later on this afternoon.

‘Listen, on a personal level, it’s absolutely fine. I have a huge respect for Dermot [Desmond], he’s a big reason why I came back. He’s always supported me and from a personal perspective.

‘Michael and Chris [McKay, finance director], who I work with on a day-to-day basis, good guys.

‘These are guys that are in on Christmas Day in the football club, feeding the kids, when we’re there and doing all the things that they want to do for Celtic.

‘These are honest guys. In my opinion, what we need to do is try and ensure that our football model can be lined up. Otherwise, we’re just going to be in this cycle.’

While Anthony Ralston is sidelined and Kieran Tierney has just returned to training, Daizen Maeda is good to go for Rugby Park.

The forward made no secret of his displeasure at not being allowed to move on during the window as there was no replacement waiting in the wings.

The manager has no doubt that the Japanese will now knuckle down.

‘I wasn’t surprised by that because I’ve known since the end of February where Daizen was at,’ he said.

‘We spoke a lot. He’s continued to give everything in his game and his training. He had a few options to go and ones that would have been great for him and his family in terms of his life. But it didn’t materialise.

‘So, it’s now my job, now he’s here again, to convince him to go again. I’ve done that with players before.

‘I had Luis Suarez nearly at the end of my first season [at Liverpool] when it was deemed he was going to Arsenal.

‘Players will have challenges. But I think everyone sees the integrity of which he works, how he plays and how I can reconnect all of that again.’