Club’s hierarchy ‘bleeds Celtic’ claims Brendan Rodgers | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers has stated that the club’s hierarchy ‘bleeds Celtic’ and expressed his trust that they will strengthen the squad, though he acknowledged transfers need to be completed more swiftly going forward…

Brendan Rodgers manager 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

The Celtic manager admitted he was aware his team went into their Champions League play-off underprepared, which ultimately saw them suffer an embarrassing penalty shootout loss to Kairat Almaty in Kazakhstan on Tuesday evening.

On the contrary, supporters will argue that the only thing the Celtic board truly bleeds is us, the Celtic support. Extracting money from fans continually while hoarding cash and pocketing salaries far beyond what the club’s size would justify.

Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay applaud during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Although Rodgers diplomatically expressed respect and appreciation for the way the club is managed OFF THE PITCH, he called on the recruitment team and decision-makers to secure signings sooner ON THE PITCH to prevent a repeat of Tuesday night’s five-in-a-row qualification calamity Groundhog Day – something which Celtic supporters are sick and tired of watching.

The club did finally announced the arrival of Michel-Ange Balikwisha on Thursday, while Uruguayan defender Marcelo Saracchi trained with his new teammates yesterday afternoon, and Rodgers remains keen to see further additions secured before the transfer window closes on Monday.

Speaking at the club’s media conference at Lennoxtown yesterday afternoon ahead of tomorrow’s Glasgow Derby at Ibrox about the way the club has conducted their business this summer, Rodgers said: “There are so many reasons why transfer deals don’t get done, or don’t get done in time, I just know that as a manager or coach, if you can bring in a player on July 1, then he has time to adapt, on and off the pitch, then by the time you get to competitive games, they are settled in and ready.

“So, it’s not about investment, because this club will invest. We are super well run as a club and the investment is there.”

Rodgers added: “I just think we need to look at the timing of the investment, I don’t know if that goes back to recruitment, or identification, or all these different facets, but what I do know is that we have to be better at timing.”

“Over the next few days I am pretty sure we will invest in the squad, but we want to get the timing of investment right to give us every single chance to be the best version of Celtic that we can be.”

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)

“We have a major owner in Dermot who is a super intelligent guy, we have a board of directors who bleed Celtic and want the club to do well, so everyone here is connected,” Brendan Rodgers said.

“I sometimes hear stuff about there being a disconnect, and that couldn’t be further from the truth, for me, the board and Dermot, we all love Celtic and want the club to be the very best it can be, there is a business model that works so well and I just want to ensure the football model works equally as well, so that it is fluent, agile and we keep ahead of the game.”

Watch Brendan Rodgers’ media conference below…

Conor Spence

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