Everything Brendan Rodgers said after Celtic’s Calamity in Almaty

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The Celtic Star

·27 de agosto de 2025

Everything Brendan Rodgers said after Celtic’s Calamity in Almaty

Celtic’s Calamity in Almaty – Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media after his side were beaten by Kairat on penalties in the Champions League playoff round in Kazakhstan last night…

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

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

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Q: What do you put this down to tonight? Is it just a one-off, or is this a for a lack of investment earlier in the summer to try and bolster your squad?

Brendan Rodgers: “Listen, I’m concentrating at this moment in time on the game. It was a poor game, I felt. That’s just a shame because last year we made some great strides. I’ve said before, we had a hint of what we could do at the level. And with the greatest respect, this was a great opportunity for us to be back there. But sadly, we won’t be. So, plenty of endeavour, plenty of honesty. But the Champions League is a wee bit more than that.”

Celtic line up 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: There’s been a lot of noise, obviously, around the club. We spoke about that yesterday. There’s going to be a lot more noise about this result tonight. How do you cope with that and the ramifications of that in terms of not qualifying for the Champions League?

Brendan Rodgers: “It’s hugely disappointing, and I really feel for the supporters that travelled all the way to be here, the effort and the commitment that they’ve shown to be here. We’re bitterly disappointed for them as well as ourselves because the Champions League is a wonderful competition and we’ve seen that last year, we’ve seen the progress. But yeah, we would just have to, as we always do, we have to stick together as a squad and as a team and reflect on this, and we’ve got a huge game at the weekend. So yeah, it’s a tough one to take. We didn’t do enough over the two games.”

Brendan Rodgers manager of Celtic talks with their players before being substituted on 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 it going to be a long flight back? There’s lots to ponder, lots to think about in terms of how you get things back ahead of what is a huge game now on Sunday?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think what I have in that this group of players is that I can’t fault them. From the first day back, they’ve been brilliant over the course of pre-season; they’ve given absolutely everything. Domestically, we’ve started well in the league. But at this level, even with teams that maybe don’t quite have the quality, but they’re hard to break down. You still need that little bit of extra finesse and precision, and goal-scoring quality to break through. We obviously missed a big chance at home. And then tonight, like I said, it wasn’t a great game of football. If you’re watching that as a Champions League football game, you wouldn’t say it was anywhere near that level. But that is more down to the pitch. I felt, on that. But still, we just have to accept that congratulations to Kairat. It’s an amazing result for them and they’ll have great experience in the Champions League. For us, we missed a huge opportunity.”

Celtic supporters, 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: Brendan, I think I saw you before the game go over to the Celtic fans. Did you almost salute them for being here? I mean there’ll be a lot of anger amongst the fans now. Can you understand that or do you think you had enough out on the pitch tonight to actually win through, even over the two ties?

Brendan Rodgers: “The fans, I just wanted to show the appreciation that you can’t underestimate the travel, the finance, the love of the club to be here so far away, and it was just a gesture to say thank you. Obviously we wanted to then go through on the pitch. But yeah, I still think we had opportunities, but over the two legs it was always still in the balance. I think back to where we were last year in terms of our speed and quality of football and dynamism and everything else. We weren’t quite that over the two games. It’s a huge disappointment.”

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)

Q: I appreciate it’s raw just now, but fans will wonder why Celtic with the resources they have went into these ties that are so crucial, so ill-prepared and under-resourced. Is there an answer to the why because people can’t fathom it, I don’t think?

Brendan Rodgers: “I always think that investment is great, but it has to be a timely investment. Investment in whatever it is you’re doing has to be all at the right time. I think at this moment in time it’s, like you say, it’s a little bit raw. We’ve just lost the game and like I say, this group of players have given everything. We’re obviously limited to what we could do in the game and moments. But like I said, they give everything. We just couldn’t find enough good moments, moments of quality to break through. We have to accept that.”

Daizen Maeda of Celtic reacts to missing an opportunity Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 August 2025. Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

Q: Just a final thought, does it feel a bit self-inflicted, the pressure put on yourselves because of not replacing key players?

Brendan Rodgers: “It’s very frustrating. As I said, we all know where we want to get to. We showed last year, like I say, the strides that I felt we took. But you have to build on that. The last thing you want to do in football is manufacture your own stress. That’s what you don’t want to be doing. But I think all we can do now is we have to look at where we’re at as a football club, and like I say, decide what way we want to go. And at this moment in time, we can still have a very good season. The Europa League, some will say, we deserve to be in that this year. But for me, go away with this group of players, see what the remaining days in the window bring, and then we’ve got a really big game at the weekend.”

Celtic fans in the stands 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: Yes, given the financial gulf between the Europa League and the Champions League, does that impact at all on what you will do between now and the close of the window?

Brendan Rodgers: “I haven’t a clue, I really don’t know.”