Brendan Rodgers deserves bumper new deal as Celtic manager and getting it signed will send it all the right signals for the future…
It’s no secret that Brendan Rodgers is entering the last year of the three year deal he agreed when he returned to the club in June 2023 as he replaced Ange Postecoglou in the Celtic dugout after the Greek-Australian accepted the poison chalice that is the Tottenham job.
At that time Brendan said he would definitely honour that contract, although some were pretty sceptical after the way in which his first spell at the club ended, but for me I think that the Irishman will be true to his word and see out the remainder of that contract. Two doubles later it’s getting to the time when that matter for the longer term needs sorting out and some clarify given that will be good for everyone connected with the club from the largest shareholder Dermot Desmond down to the ordinary supporter like you and me.
If three years and three years only was indeed Brendan’s intention then this campaign would indeed be his last, which makes it all the more imperative that the Celtic hierarchy sound him out about extending his stay and offer him a bumper deal to remain in Glasgow for the foreseeable future. The club should know one way or another and the longer it goes on with no clarity the more troublesome the matter will become.
Brendan does after all deserve nothing less than to be rewarded for his achievements as he’s brought us nothing but success whilst improving us on the European stage in his two years back in the hot seat.
The irishman is a top class coach and we would struggle to replace him with a coach of similar standing in the game, which makes it all the more vital that his bosses offer him what he wants to extend his stay. Brendan also understands everything about Celtic and knows how to win in the Scottish game.
It’s the European stage that will matter most to him in terms of expanding his own achievements and indeed his own legacy as a Celtic manager, something that is very important to him. Ironically the uncertainty on where he will be at the club beyond next summer could have an impact on that as potential signing targets may interpret that negatively when weighing up their options this summer.
Of course a new deal won’t mean he will be here longer, but it sends out a message that we have lofty ambitions and want to grow and improve as a club.
We have Callum McGregor and James Forrest committing themselves to Celtic – barring Calmac having a loan spell at Notts County the two have played all their club football in the Hoops. However a manager can’t make a similar commitment as they tend to get sacked when things go badly wrong, as happened to Brendan in his last job at Leicester City.
A long term deal and an opportunity to have a real chance to develop Celtic into a notable player at Champions League level over the coming seasons would appeal to Brendan Rodgers, probably more than the millions he could earn in Saudi Arabia for instance.
Ange Postecoglou left Celtic in pursuit of his own dream. It ended well on the park with the Europa League final win over Manchester United in Bilbao. Yet just a few weeks later he was sacked.
The security Brendan Rodgers knows is there at Celtic is not to be sniffed at.
Like Rodgers, Dermot Desmond is a Celtic supporter and an Irishman. The two are known to get on very well indeed. There’s probably nothing stated above that Dermot would disagree with. And he is the man who can deliver the deal by taking through the future and aligning expectations between himself and the Celtic manager.
If that happens the sky could be the limit for Celtic. Get it done Dermot, please.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!