Celtic’s lack of ambition pushing elite manager out the door

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The Celtic Star

·26. Juli 2025

Celtic’s lack of ambition pushing elite manager out the door

Brendan Rodgers insists Yang Hyun-Jun is going nowhere amid Celtic’s current lack of wide options and it highlights a bigger problem…

Como 24/07/2025 – / Ajax-Celtic / foto Matteo Gribaudi/Image nella foto: esultanza gol Yang Hyun-Jun

The 23 year-old has played a bit part role for the Scottish champions since arriving at the club from K-League side Gangwon FC two years ago.

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Having recently been linked with a move to English Championship outfit Norwich City, it appeared Yang’s future might lie elsewhere but Rodgers has outlined the South Korean is currently not for sale.

Heading into next Sunday’s Scottish Premiership opener against St Mirren, the Celtic boss only has three wingers available for selection – Yang, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest – and has admitted that the Hoops desperately need reinforcements in the forward line.

COMO , 24-07-2025 , Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia , season 2025 / 2026 , Como Cup football , match between Ajax and Celtic , Brendan Rodgers Head coach of Celtic and John Heitinga Head Coach of Ajax. Ajax v Celtic friendly. Photo IMAGO

Speaking in Como Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s always a challenge, I think, at a club like Celtic, whenever players have maybe been for a couple of seasons and they’re not quite established. Because then they want to go and play more. But certainly at this stage, where we’re at within the squad, it’s not something I can even entertain.”

Rodgers added via Glasgow Times: “You see he’s starting the games. And I see him as an important player for us in our squad. And once we can get the quality around him, then he’ll be a good player for us. It’s hard to say. At this moment in time, he’s a starting winger for us. So we’re not in a position to be moving him on. At this moment in time, it’s not even in our thinking really.”

Peter Lawwell, Chairman of Celtic, Dermot Desmond, Non-Executive Director of Celtic, and Michael Nicholson, CEO of Celtic, are seen in attendance prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Now, the bigger problem. Can Michael Nicholson and the Celtic board class themselves as serious operators?

They had known Nicolas Kuhn was leaving the club for many months and despite being two weeks on since his departure, they STILL have not signed his replacement ultimately leaving the manager short heading into a tough set of opening domestic fixtures and a two-legged Champions League qualifier. A serious club? Ha!

Now, Celtic in time may sign a winger. Or two. But Rodgers has constantly reinforced the message of wanting players to be in the door early [and quite rightly too]so they have time to bed in before the serious stuff starts.

Because that’s what serious clubs do. But, it’s getting all too late again.

Hyunjun Yang of Celtic celebrates their goal to make it 1-1 Ajax v Celtic, Como Cup Pre Season Football, Football, Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como, Italy – 24 Jul 2025Como Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia Italy. Photo Shutterstock/ IMAGO

Rodgers’ comments about ‘ambition’ following Celtic’s comprehensive 5-1 defeat to Ajax on Wednesday evening is more than concerning. This was a deliberate message to the people above. Sadly, we have been in this movie before and we know how it ends.

There should be repercussions for Celtic’s hierarchy shrugging their shoulders at the thought of pushing an elite manager like Rodgers out the door. But hey ho, the club has a net profit of around £20 million so far in this window… I’m sure readers will be delighted to know we’re a supposed well run club.

Conor Spence in Como

Read this – The backstory to Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out 5 September 2025. Available to pre-order now.

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