Brendan Rodgers says he would like to get his transfer business done early this month, but he used the example of when Celtic missed out on the signing of Declan Rice to exemplify that supporters may need a degree of patience during the January window.
The Celtic manager has revealed that the club were close to securing the services of the now £100m Arsenal and England midfielder during his first spell in charge, only for injuries at West Ham to open up an opportunity for him there, which he seized.
Rodgers says then that both he and the club will be pushing to get the ‘quality’ he has long demanded in as soon as they possibly can, but as the example of Rice shows, that is not always in their hands.
“The club will do absolutely everything we can to support what we need and what the team needs,” Rodgers said.
“There is lots of work going on in the background, and I’m pretty sure that in this early period of the month, we can have some joy and get one or two in.
“Ideally you’d want to get them in [early]. Deals can be complicated and things that might have been there for three or four months can fall away.
“That’s always the challenge - it only takes one injury to [change the situation around] with a player who was lined up to come in.
“I remember when I was here the first time, we spent about three months looking for Declan Rice to come in. Declan was all set to come in and then all of a sudden, they had an injury, he stayed and got in the team and the rest is history.
“That’s not the club’s fault - it’s just the way it goes. We have a number of positions we want to prioritise; there are other positions where we won’t be able to do anything until the summer, I know that.
“But what I do know is that we want to improve the squad and the club are very happy to support that.”
In order to bring in the profile of player he wants, Rodgers knows he will have to allow others to leave the club this month, but he says he has always been up front with his squad men about their future – or lack of one – at Celtic.
“It’s the hardship of the job - it’s one of the tough moments that you have - but I always think you’re better being clear with the players and where he stands,” he said.
“It’s a challenge because you know that sometimes a player will leave here and he won’t have similar conditions again at his next club.
“But you have to do it for the greater good of the team, the club and for the player himself. It’s a side of the job that is a challenge, especially when players are so honest and they are on the way up. But the reality is, as a manager, that’s what you get paid to do.
“I have regular dialogue with players but still we obviously have to wait and see as well because some players may want to go out, but if we don’t get the players in that we need, then I have to ensure the squad is as strong as it possibly can be for the second part of the season.
“So there’s that management side to it as well. You have to [allow some to leave] for multiple reasons.
“For the players themselves and for their football careers, they need to play. For financial reasons, you can’t be carrying numbers of players each month who aren’t contributing.
“It then allows us the opportunity to bring players in. That’s just a natural process.”
