Ibrox Shame – “Players’ safety is paramount,” insists Celtic manager

The Celtic Star

·10 May 2025

Ibrox Shame – “Players’ safety is paramount,” insists Celtic manager

Brendan Rodgers spoke to the mainstream media on Friday afternoon ahead of Celtic’s Scottish Premiership encounter against Hibernian this afternoon at Celtic Park. Here’s everything that was said…

Brendan Rodgers. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: How’s the squad looking? You obviously had a few that missed out last week, any of them back?

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Brendan Rodgers: “Kasper will be available for the squad. Alistair Johnston is still out but we’ll have a look for him in midweek against Aberdeen. Cameron Carter-Vickers is still out, we’re looking for him for St Mirren. That was the plan that we thought with those two players. Obviously the other guys that were out are still out.”

Viljami Sinisalo. at Ibrox. theRangers v Celtic, 4 May 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: How difficult a decision do you have with the goalkeeper now because Viljami Sinisalo has come in and done so well and obviously everything is going to gear up towards this Cup final?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s been an interesting one because if Kasper had stayed fit we may not have seen so much of Vil, in which case then we would have had a decision in the summer because he’s a very, very talented young goalkeeper and was it acase of does he go out on loan to get that experience with the view of coming back to challenge to be number one. But indirectly the situation has really, really helped us and cleared up that thinking because he’s been excellent. He’s played with real authority and calmness for such a young goalkeeper. He had a big test away at Ibrox last week, he came through that really, really well. I’ve been really, really pleased for him. Kasper clearly was our number one goalkeeper, he’s been brilliant for us all season. It’s just really good to have him back and available and we assess it from there.”

UEFA Champions League 2024 2025, Celtic Glasgow vs Young Boys Bern YB Celtic Park. Kasper Schmeichel cheers Celtic’s 1- 0 victory. Photo JOERAN STEINSIEK (IMAGO)

Q: Is that just the harsh reality of that position where you can come in and do so well but ultimately you do have an established number one and a Cup final round the corner?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think we just have to, Kasper, we’ve been careful with him and we’ll wait to see until later on how his shoulder and that has reacted and then we can make a decision then who will play tomorrow. Yeah, it’s just the nature of it. But no doubt we brought Vil in here to eventually be the number one goalkeeper and everything to that plan is on point at this moment in time. He’s been very, very good. I’ve been really, really impressed with him in the games and it’s great to have that.”

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Q: Whether it’s that position or others, is it a nice benefit of having the cup final where everyone is playing for those places? You’ve obviously won the league a couple of weeks ago and then last weekend’s fixture probably speaks for itself but now in these next few every player’s got that motivation?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think that over the course of the next three games, in particular the next two games, there’ll be lots of changes. Players that I want to give an opportunity to, players that deserve the opportunity to play, the opportunity to recover some because this is our 55th game or something like that this season so we’ll be playing a lot of games. Yeah, certainly over the course of the next week there’ll be changes in the team.”

Rangers substitute Neraysho Kasanwirjo runs on to the pitch to throw items off the pitch that appear to have been thrown into the Celtic penalty area during the second half of the match. theRangers v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Ibrox. Sunday 04 May 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: We were just chatting to Viljami, Brendan, about the off-field unsavoury incidents at the weekend targeted by missiles whilst on the pitch and had to move away glass bottles or whatnot. What’s your reflections on that as the manager of players who are targeted in that way on the pitch?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’d just be the same as any coach or manager. It’s clearly not nice to see and hopefully it can be addressed and hopefully players’ safety is paramount and can be looked at.”

Q: Is that a worry that that’s not the first time it’s happened in this fixture at Ibrox for you? Things that we’ve seen before, staff being targeted as well, is that a worry?

Brendan Rodgers: “It always is but listen, I’m pretty sure theRangers will be looking at that. They don’t want to be associated with that type of behaviour. It’s not great but they will deal with that I’m sure.”

Hibernian manager David Gray arrives prior to the Premier Sports Cup match between Celtic and Hibernian at Celtic Park on August 18, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Just a word on Hibs, the turnaround that David Gray has done at the club and what you’re expecting from a team who will be fighting for their life the last few games to get to that third spot and that European spot?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, I’ve been very, very impressed. I think that it was obviously very difficult for David and his team and for the club right through until November. It’s actually been like a reverse of Aberdeen really. Aberdeen had that brilliant start and then the second part of the season for Jimmy and that has been a little bit more challenging. For David it was the reverse of that, challenging in the first part. Since he changed his system in November, they went back five, and that structure has really, really helped the team. The players you always clearly could see they believed in him as a coach and as a manager but weren’t getting the results at the beginning of the season. But then they had and then it went on a fantastic run. And in all fairness, when we played them back in the cup game a number of weeks back, they arrived in that moment in a really, really good place. However, we played a really good game that day and we know we need to play another really good game because, like you say, they have targets they want to achieve in these last three games. We also have targets. We’re at home also and we want to bring our level of game and it should be a fantastic football match.”

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Alistair Johnston. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Obviously, you’ve got the cotton wool out for the cup final with a few of the guys but is it a temptation to look at some players or maybe some younger players as well in the next game or so?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, I will do. That’s exactly what it will be. I’ll give the opportunity to players to play and also I’m one as well. I like to judge sometimes a player away from home. It’s nice when they can play at home in front of 60,000 and all the support is there but it’s also, for me, being a Celtic player is also how you can cope away from home. I’ll definitely do that in the next few games.”

Q: You were at the Glasgow Cup final last week. Are there youths coming through who can emulate guys like Callum McGregor, James Forrest, Tony Ralston, Kieran Tierney and all that stuff? Are the next ones coming through, do you feel?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, it’s going to be a little bit of time. That’s the honest answer to that. The level of the Glasgow Cup final wasn’t a great game. That’s my view of the game. Obviously, the pitch wasn’t in the best condition at the back end of the season so the speed and the level of the game wasn’t of the highest quality. There’s some talented players here but it’s going to take them time and work and development in order to get the opportunity. If you look through my career, I’ve always played young players. I’ve played players as young as 16 years of age but it’s not meant to be easy. You don’t just give players, they have to earn it and they have to deserve it and they have to be warranted that opportunity through hard work and quality.”

Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Christie. Photo: Richard Lee/Sportimage

Q: Is it important not to just give them games to try and keep them at the club? It’s got to be earned?

Brendan Rodgers: “It’s a catch-22 really. I just try and simplify it. I’ve always throughout my career, I’ve judged a young player like any other player in terms of their age. I’m not so much worried about what age he is – does he have the talent or does he have the personality to have that wee bit of mental toughness to put him into the arena? If they have that, they’ll get opportunities and then can they sustain that. But a young player’s development might well be that he needs to get out and get into the men’s game and the rough and tumble of it and then come back and be better for it. I see a great example of young Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who I had at Leicester. He scored for Chelsea last night. Kiernan was a young player who’d come through the academy, hadn’t played in the first team. He was a talented player but really didn’t have any opportunities. But I’d seen something in him. I gave him his debut in the FA Cup against Brentford away from home and then sent him out on loan the next day as part of the plan for him to get minutes and grow as a young player. He had six months at Blackpool, then he went a year to Luton, done very well. When he came back he was ready and then it was just about timing. And then when he got in the team, away to Southampton, he never came out of the team and progressed really well. So it’s about timing, it’s about each individual player, what their needs are. Ryan Christie was the same here when he was here. I sent him to Aberdeen, had a great spell there, really developed under Derek when he was there. Then he came back here ready and then it was just about timing. Then he got that opportunity in the semi-final at Murrayfield. So for young players, there’s always a pathway here.”

Johnny Kenny with Dane Murray at Fir Park on Sunday.Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: You’ve mentioned Dane Murray a couple of times, will we see him?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, he’s injured. Sadly for him, he’s just had a wee clean-up of his knee. Dane’s one I really, really like. He’s got a lot of attributes. He’s got good pace, he’s strong, he’s brave, he’s competitive and he can play. So sadly for him, it’ll be pre-season with him and then again it’ll be the decision of is he around to play or do we need to get him games?”

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Q: You said a few weeks ago that change will be needed this summer. Do you foresee part of that being players going as well because of the standard that some of the players have been playing at? Do you anticipate that it might be a big exit, a bit like a Jota two years ago or Matt O’Riley a year ago?

Brendan Rodgers: “I don’t know. When I say change, it’s just something that’s natural. It’s not me demanding this. Change will just naturally take place. If every player was here in the squad and every player was staying, I would say, I look at it, I’d probably need three players to add to what we have, of quality. But that’s probably not going to be the case [that every player will stay]. There will be interest in players, I’m pretty sure, because of the level the team has been at. Then we have to assess it from there. Then I think players that maybe aren’t playing so much will move on. So then all of a sudden you have change. It’s good that we have to do that to progress. This team have been absolutely brilliant over the couple of years I’ve been here. But I think there will be some natural movement come the summer. But either way, we look to come back in pre-season and by the end of the window, the summer will be stronger.”

Reo Hatate of Celtic scores to give Celtic a 4-0 lead. Celtic v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 12 April 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

Q: There’s a story this morning that Reo Hatate is of interest to clubs in Italy – is he one who has flown under the radar a bit in terms of his contribution and level of football?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think for Reo I can feel a little bit, especially in the first year here, there’s a little bit of inconsistency there. There’s absolutely no doubt he’s a big talent. He’s obviously a bit later in age now, even though he’s 27. But maybe sometimes I think he’s at the wrong end of the asset age. They tend to go for younger players. But for me, he’s an absolutely outstanding player. How he protects the ball, how he’s prepared to play the risk pass. He’s got goals, he can take the ball. I think the challenge for him has been sometimes in that really busy period when there’s three games a week and in that third game there’s a bit of tiredness sets in. But you see him now, especially when there’s one game a week, he’s so good. A really gifted player. It took me a wee while to get inside of his mind and everything else. He’s absolutely superb. We’re certainly not underestimating him by ourselves because he’s been really, really good this year.”

Cameron Carter-Vickers celebrates with fellow goalscorer Reo Hatate after scoring to give Celtic a 3-0 lead. Celtic v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 12 April 2025. IMAGO Photo Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: He’s entering the last two years of his contract Brendan, I wonder if the club at this time would talk to him about extending that?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, I think the club will always sit down with the representatives and Michael Nicholson will be doing that over the course of these coming months with all the players and the negotiations. I’m sure agents will be coming in to see him as well. But yes, a really gifted player and this is his fourth season here. We’ll see what that looks like in the summer.”

Nicolas Kuhn celebrates. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

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Q: Nicolas Kuhn – there was a photograph of him in training this morning?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes, he done it the other day actually. He jumped for a header and he got five stitches just down below his eye. He’s fit to play. He’s trained well this week so he’ll have the warrior spirit for tomorrow.”

Darren O’Dea (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Q: Is Darren O’Dea possibly leaving to Swansea?

Brendan Rodgers: “I spoke to Darren yesterday on that. He came to see me and get my thoughts on what that would be, what it would look like. Obviously I know Swansea is a club in the city, better than most. So yes, I think there may well be a possibility of him to go as a coach I think. In his heart, he still sees himself as that. Probably the role he’s in now he’d probably only do that at a club like Celtic. But I think in his heart is in coaching and maybe the possibility to manage later on. So yes, he just asked my opinion on it. So we’ll see what happens on that.”

Greg Taylor. theRangers v Celtic, 4 May 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Any news on Greg Taylor or do you expect that to go beyond the end of the season?

Brendan Rodgers: “I don’t know of anything new on him.”

Conor Spence

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