Rodgers legacy as a Celtic manager hinges on this season

Celtic were absolutely woeful yet again as we were humbled by Steven Pressley’s Dundee side at Dens Park, a performance that has finally opened most of our fans eyes to the reality that this season is going to be a serious struggle.

I have been saying since the first few games of this season that this campaign is giving me the same vibes as the dreaded ‘covid season’ and nothing I saw today has changed my mind in that regard. There is no point beating around the bush, we are absolutely rank rotten at the moment. There are serious problems at our club from the top down and it’s all accumulating to the point where I genuinely can see us lose the league title this season.

This season has had a dark cloud hanging over it since day one. It all started with the transfer window in the summer. We sold off most of our goalscorers in the summer. The two we held on to? One has a long term injury and the other thought he was leaving only to be told he wasn’t allowed to. The outcome? A team who just doesn’t look like scoring. Yes we scored three against Motherwell but outside of that we have been absolutely toothless in attack.

So yes the board deserves all the flak they are receiving for their absolute dereliction of duty during the summer. Their inactivity in the transfer window severely weakened us, especially in an attacking sense. All the blame can’t fall on them however.

Brendan Rodgers and the players also deserve our criticism. Yes Rodgers needed more backing in the transfer window but come on, it’s not like he’s been left with a squad completely devoid of talent. We still have by far the strongest squad in Scotland so why are they performing so terribly? Well Rodgers and the coaching staff certainly have to take some of the blame.

I’m not sure if you heard the interview with Brendan Rodgers earlier where he started talking about having a Honda Civic and being expected to drive it like a Ferrari? I’ve always been a fan of Rodgers but I have to say this one even annoyed me.

You don’t need a Ferrari to be winning games in Scottish football. A Honda Civic is fine when you are racing against Lada’s most weeks. I would one hundred percent back him if he said this after a defeat in the Champions League but against a team who hadn’t beat us at their own ground in almost forty years? Catch a grip. We had more than enough to beat Dundee yesterday but failed miserably.

I could literally write a thousand words about what is currently wrong with our team but what’s the point?

You all have eyes and can see our frailties as clear as I can. We can’t score. We can’t defend set pieces. Our slow build up play gets us nowhere. The opposition has worked us out and instead of changing it up we just keep utilising the same players and the same tactics and end up with the same results.

I said in a previous article a few weeks back that this season now is all about winning games, no matter how we do it. I think we can all agree we won’t be witnessing beautiful football anytime soon so grinding out three points each week is all that matters.

We can already see that we aren’t going to make our mark in Europe this season. Even at Europa League level we are struggling. The board virtually ended our chances on the continent in the summer by failing to back the manager so our focus should be on matters closer to home. Giving it our all domestically is more important. Losing the league title to Hearts, and let’s me honest, they look like they could be out biggest challenge, would be an absolute embarrassment.

Rodgers reputation as an elite level manager is being questioned, and rightly so. His legacy as a Celtic manager will certainly hinge on how this season goes. Yes he’s been hugely successful in the past but if Celtic fail to win the league this season that’s what he will be remembered for most of all.

Just ask Neil Lennon.

Conall McGinty

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