“In fairness to the players, they have been brilliant with that,” Brendan Rodgers

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The Celtic Star

·20 de agosto de 2025

“In fairness to the players, they have been brilliant with that,” Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers has called on his players to ignore the distractions of transfer talk, making it clear their responsibility is to the club until they are instructed differently…

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, acknowledges the fans prior to the Premier Sports League Cup match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on August 15, 2025 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic face Kairat Almaty at Celtic Park this evening in the opening leg of their Champions League playoff tie, before travelling to Almaty, Kazakhstan, for the return leg next Tuesday.

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As players move in and out during the summer transfer window, Rodgers has reminded his squad of the importance of maintaining concentration with crucial fixtures on the horizon.

At yesterday’s media conference at Celtic Park, which I attended representing The Celtic Star, the Celtic manager outlined the message he had delivered to his players about handling this demanding spell of both tough European and domestic fixtures.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

‘It’s important to just set the narrative’

Brendan Rodgers said: “I mentioned this a few weeks ago to the players because I think it’s important to just set the narrative for them, because, like you say, there’s so much noise, especially as it ramps up towards the end.

“I’ve been in enough changing rooms to know how stability can be lost in this moment because some players will be thinking, are they staying or are they going? But in the midst of that, you’ve got really important games.”

”It is about respecting and acknowledging that it is a difficult part of the season’

“It is about respecting and acknowledging that it is a difficult part of the season. However, the money will be in your bank every month, and it will be from Celtic, and whilst it is you need to perform. So you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

Celtic FC coach Brendan Rodgers looks on before the Como Cup match between Al-Ahli and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 26, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Rodgers added: “I respect and acknowledge that it can be tough, especially if you’re wondering if you are going to be here or not, but Celtic pays your wages, and while they do, you focus on doing the very best you can for Celtic. Then, we start that process every day in training, being the very best that we can, pushing each other, demanding, and then we’ll take that into the games.”

“In fairness to the players, they have been brilliant with that,” Brendan Rodgers

“In fairness to the players, they have been brilliant with that. You see it in the last number of games, the attitude in the game, the energy in the games, has been very, very good.”

Watch Brendan’s full media conference below…

Conor Spence

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