Celtic at a Crossroads – Lofty Aspirations or Settling for Mediocrity

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The Celtic Star

·01 de agosto de 2025

Celtic at a Crossroads – Lofty Aspirations or Settling for Mediocrity

Brendan Rodgers was in great form at the media conference at Lennoxtown this afternoon which was attended by The Celtic Star and Celts are Here, representing the Celtic fan media, as well as the usual hacks, one of whom got rather bored with talking about all things Celtic so turned the conversation to his own favourites asking could he talk about theRangers…

Celtic 2 Rangers 1, 20 March 1993. Celtic’s Stuart Slater (left) controls the ball as Paul McStay and Stuart McCall close in on the ball. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Before that we were chatting to Brendan about Paul McStay and his own contract situation at Celtic, plus a wee query about whether certain signing targets were perhaps waiting to see if we made it through to the Champions League group stage before committing – not the case according to Brendan so the reasons why the club so far have failed to satisfy the manager’s clear and obvious needs must lie elsewhere.

Vídeos OneFootball

What was clear from today is the following:

a) Brendan will see out his three years as Celtic manager as he promised to do when he returned. Guaranteed.

b) Brendan loves being at Celtic but will not stay to maintain a level, he’s not here to oversee the club standing still. Guaranteed.

c) So far he’s failed to convince those that matter – Dermot Desmond and Michael Nicholson – of his need to bring in quality signings but he’ll now be trying harder to succeed in this regard.

d) So far there has NOT been a contract offer but the manager’s stance is abundantly clear. Back him to develop and improve the squad to make a mark in Europe or alternative start looking at the list of candidates who will be happy to drive us forward in the slow lane of European football with maybe sporadic Europa or even Conference League impacts.

If only Celtic had £100m burning a hole in the PLC bank account…

Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive of Celtic FC looks on from the stands prior to the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic FC and St Mirren FC at Celtic Park on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“If it’s just something to maintain, I’m not the manager for Celtic,” Brendan said when asked if there was an update on his own contract situation. “There’s no further update, no,” the Celtic manager said. “For the sake of honesty and clarity, I can tell you exactly where we’re at.

“I said when I came here first that I’d do three years minimum. And people had me out the door at the end of last season or going various places. I said then and I’ll say now, there’s nowhere to go. I love being here.

“I’ve done two years, I’ve got one more year to go. Dermot, Michael, and I had a conversation over the summer on where we were at and where it sits with myself and everything else. I said, I’m very happy here. There’s conditions we want in to be able to improve and be better, because I’m not the type of manager that’s good at maintaining anything,” Brendan explained.

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)

“If it’s just something to maintain, I’m not the manager for Celtic. It’ll be someone else. But to build and grow and develop and push, then of course I love being at Celtic.

“So, when that time comes, when the club offer me a deal, or not, then it doesn’t make a difference to me, because I will every single day of my life, I’ll give everything here to the very last day. And when the club feel there’s that time to make an offer, then they will do.

“It’s slightly different from a manager’s perspective to a player. Players, clubs need to ensure that they’re tied in, especially this time of the year when there’s maybe only six months left. It’s slightly different for a manager, but it doesn’t change my hunger and desire here for the work.”

Asked if his own aims and ambitions for the club are shared by chief executive Michael Nicholson and Dermot Desmond, Brendan was clear in his response.

Michael Nicholson is seen during the Premier Sports Cup match between Celtic and Hibernian at Celtic Park on August 18, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“I think it’s just me declaring what is important for us all. My ambition is for Celtic. It’s not for me. My ambition is for Celtic to be the best that it can be,” the Celtic manager said.

“I’ve been in the game quite a long time now, so I think I understand what we need to succeed. We did that last year. We brought in certain players that helped our profile when we move into the Champions League. And those players came in and really helped us.

“I think everyone felt good about the Champions League last year, that we progressed, played some great football, and took a club that’s set away beyond our budget, playing budget, ran them very, very close. Great. So my ambition now is to keep us going in that direction. And that’s what our conversations were about.”

Celtic v RB Leipzig – UEFA Champions League – Celtic Park Dermot Desmond in the stands ahead of the UEFA Champions League, league stage match at Celtic Park, on Tuesday November 5, 2024. Photo Andrew Milligan

On whether his contract situation could prove disruptive, he added:

“Well, it depends who it disrupts. It certainly won’t be the players. It won’t be the staff. And 100% it won’t be me. Because I give everything here. It’s the reason I came back. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I want to continue with that.”

So there you have it.

It comes down to ambition to be the very best football club we can be, one under Brendan Rodgers that strives to be involved in a meaningful way year after year at Champions League level.

Or a club that gives up on any success lofty aspirations and settles for mediocrity.

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)

Elite Celtic or second-rate Celtic the choice is Dermot Desmond’s and Michael Nicholson’s and if they choose the latter then perhaps the Celtic support will have their own choices to make and plenty to say about it.

When Celtic needed the support we put our hands in our pockets, most recently during the Covid season when we all renewed our season tickets – that never happened at any of the elite club in the English Premier League.

The Celtic supporters knew we’d not get to games but we renewed anyway. It’s our club after all. If the Chief Executive and the largest shareholder have other ideas perhaps they should tell us what their alternative vision to Celtic is?

And to be clear, we’ll be backing Brendan…what about you?

David Potter at the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden, Celtic 2 Hearts 1, 25 may 2019. Photo The Celtic Star

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Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Foreword by Danny McGrain. Published on Celtic Star Books on 5 September 2025. Click on image to pre-order.

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