By GARY KEOWN
Published: 18:00 EDT, 20 August 2025 | Updated: 18:04 EDT, 20 August 2025
Brendan Rodgers has told Celtic fans he has no idea if club directors will pay any attention to their chants of ‘Sack The Board’ or his continued demands for new players.
And he made a point of stating that it’s managers such as himself who get the chop rather than those above him in the food chain when results don’t go to plan.
The home fans blew a gasket as their team was held 0-0 by Kazakh outfit Kairat Almaty in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying play-off and targeted CEO Michael Nicholson and chairman Peter Lawwell over the absence of big-name signings ahead of this £40million Euro tie.
Rodgers has already made it crystal-clear that he wants signings in several positions and now finds himself short at right-back for next Tuesday’s return after Alistair Johnston was taken off on a stretcher with a hamstring injury in the first half.
Asked if he felt the board would listen to the unrest within Parkhead last night or even his own demands, Rodgers replied: ‘I don’t know. I can only concentrate on the team that we have currently. I can’t get too distracted by what I don’t have.’
When asked if he understood why the supporters staged such a public show of dissent, he added: ‘Yeah, absolutely. Understanding “Sack The Board”? I don’t know any board that gets sacked. It is normally the manager.
It was a tough night for Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers as his side drew 0-0
Rodgers has been asking for reinforcements to his squad but business has been slow
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor cut a frustrated figure at full-time at Parkhead
‘At any club I ever see, it’s the manager that gets the sack. It’s not the board.
‘But listen, we have to go away and analyse tonight and see where we could be better. I’ve said many times that, in order to progress at this level, we need to have more.’
Rodgers also believed the difficulties experienced against Kairat showed exactly why he needs to freshen up the side with quality signings.
‘Nights like that do,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘At this level, they have a good team that understands the game, they have some really good players and a young winger going to Chelsea next season.
‘They are talented players and they are used to winning. We know where we have to improve.’
Rodgers spent almost £30m on Arne Engels, Adam Idah, Auston Trusty and Paulo Bernardo, with Idah the only one picked to start last night. He was then hooked at half-time.
‘I’ve said it clearly and I can’t keep going on about it. Every press conference I have, it’s so, so clear what this team needs,’ added Rodgers.
Captain Callum McGregor admits the unrest throughout the stadium did filter its way onto the pitch, but insisted that it did not make a difference to the players or increase their anxiety.
‘Not for the group,’ he said. ‘We’d been playing really well coming into the game. It was a big game, we didn’t start well and that’s where the anxiety comes from.
‘We know how much everyone wants it. Everyone wants to be in the Champions League. When that starts to fester through the stadium then, of course, the players feel it — but it’s our job to try and block that out and keep playing.
‘Listen, we’ve still got another game. It’s 0-0 in the tie. We never lost. We have to go there next week and win — and that’s no problem!’
Rodgers, who took charge of his 800th fixture as a boss, is also positive.
‘I’ve been here before in a qualification game,’ he said. ‘We drew 0-0 with Rosenborg and went on to play really well in the away leg and we’ll have to do that here.
‘But we’ll have to play better than we did in the first half. We were very passive, lacked belief, were slow. We were on autopilot a little bit, lost connections and speed, didn’t move well enough as a team.’