Jacko told Hotline Live that the Parkhead hierarchy face a losing battle if they don’t match their manager’s ambition
19:07, 23 Jul 2025Updated 20:04, 23 Jul 2025
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers
The Celtic board have five weeks to match Brendan Rodgers‘ ambition or they could be facing a losing battle when it comes to the boss signing a new contract.
Seemingly competing transfer strategies at Parkhead were discussed on Record Sport’s Hotline Live tonight, and our man Keith Jackson reckons things could come to a head if Rodgers feels those above him have played it safe with signings.
The champions splashed £26million on new faces last summer as Rodgers was well backed to bring in the Bhoys he wanted.
Arne Engels was a club record fee with Adam Idah not far behind, while Auston Trusty wasn’t exactly cheap at £6million.
The trio helped deliver two trophies and crucially for Rodgers, progression in the Champions League. but not everyone is sold on the decision to spend big given what they’ve seen.
And Keith suspects the Parkhead hierarchy have perhaps started to revert back to a more frugal policy this summer, which if it continues with Celtic having a playoff showdown to negotiate to unlock the Champions League riches this season, then this could be Rodgers’ last at the helm with his deal up in the summer.
“They just need to match his ambition,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a number that Celtic need to spend above it or below it and that would change anything.
“It’s entirely a matter of Brendan Rodgers identifying the players he believes will make his first team stronger and Champions League ready, as far as any Scottish team can be Champions League ready.
“And then Celtic’s board showing the same level of ambition and commitment, going out there and getting the deals done. That’s the key part.
Dermot Desmond (L) and Michael Nicholson(Image: SNS Group)
“This talk of £1.5m bids (for Go Ahead Eagles winger Jakub Breum) smacks of the first-tier transfer strategy or philosophy that we think Celtic’s board might be employing this summer – which gets away from how Brendan Rodgers wants it done.
“That is taking more of a risk, being prepared to pay a bigger premium and hope that you get your financial return on that.
“His problem is, he spent £26m last summer and I’m not sure that any one of the three players Celtic signed would turn a profit if the board decided to sell them tomorrow.
“That’s where it conflicts with the well-known model that Celtic’s board have employed over the years.
“They went a different way last summer, but Brendan Rodgers can conversely point to the amount of money they got in through the Champions League to justify that that money was spent.
“There’s a lot of potential in Arne Engels, same with Adam Idah but he has a lot to prove this season. Aaron Trusty could have a big season, and Brendan Rodgers has proven he can improve players if he’s given time to work with them.
“But these are ones that count against the Brendan Rodgers model.
“We now have five weeks until the end of the transfer window, and these will be five make-or-break weeks in terms of Brendan Rodgers and his relationship with the Celtic board. Not so much personal relationship, but his working relationship.
“They will have to show signs before the end of this transfer window that they are prepared to match his ambition. If they don’t do that, then persuading Brendan Rodgers to commit for the longer haul is going to be difficult.”