Brendan Rodgers will be confident of taking Celtic into the Champions League proper.
Despite Celtic failing to strengthen the Hoops first-team ahead of the Kairat Almaty tie, Rodgers will still be confident enough that players he has at his disposal will be able to get through the play-off round.
Celtic struggled against Kairat in the first leg as Rodgers watched his team fail to break down the dogged Kazakhstan side’s defence.
However, with Celtic fans feeling optimistic about their team’s chances, BBC man Tam Cowan took a bizarre swing at the Parkhead club and how Rodgers has bemoaned the lack of transfer business.
Photo by S. Mellar/FC Bayern via Getty ImagesBBC man Tam Cowan has no ‘sympathy’ for Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers
The majority of the pundits and ex-players in the game widely agree that Rodgers has been hamstrung in this transfer window.
However, Cowan took a bizarre swipe at Rodgers as he compared what Kairat have spent compared to the Scottish champions over the last two years.
Cowan told BBC Radio Scotland, “But I must say as well, you can spare me any sympathy for Brendan Rodgers.
“I mean, he might get doses of it if he gets Celtic into the latter stages of the Champions League, and they still don’t bring in top talent.
“But for that game the other night, you know, the Kazakhs have spent £250,000 in transfer fees in the past two years, during which period Celtic had spent £46m.
“Almaty, 311th in the official UEFA rankings. You know, the bookies, who we keep hearing never get it wrong, had Celtic as 16 to 1 on to win that game.”
“I mean Brendan Rodgers is famously on £3m per year. I think he should have been able to put a team out the other night against that side from Kazakhstan and won comfortably.
“So maybe that’s why the board are a wee bit hesitant at just chucking more money at a manager who, let’s be honest, has already had plenty to spend.”
BBC man Tam Cowan completely misses the point over Celtic and the transfer window
In a weird way, Cowan’s argument is self-defeating. Rodgers may well have spent plenty of money but it’s clear that when he does get the players he wants, he will get results in Europe.
Despite this weird narrative that Rodgers has wasted money on the likes of Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and Adam Idah, let’s not forget those three players were instrumental in helping to take Celtic within a whisker of an historic result against Bayern Munich.
Whilst all three may well be struggling this season, the Celtic trio featured in every single Champions League game and domestic tie that helped win a league and cup double.
Plus, much of the argument is not about how much money Celtic have spent, it’s about the players the club are selling and not replacing with similar quality.
And as the game against Kairat proved, disrupting the first-team too much is seriously counter-productive no matter how much money is at any club’s disposal.