In terms of an expansive chin-wag, this was not quite the Frost and Nixon interviews. It was decidedly frosty mind you and the slim pickings the football writers winkled from Brendan Rodgers must have had their respective sports editors threatening to impeach them.

To say Rodgers was not quite his usual, effusive self was a considerable understatement. When his press conference was over, you wouldn’t have been surprised if the scribblers trudged outside and managed to effortlessly coax great gallons of blood from a variety of stones.

Rodgers’s sense of agitation was clear from the off when he refused to sit down. “I’m a busy man,” he said bluntly.

His level of activity in the January transfer window has had a variety of pundits and punters expressing concerns and all this pondering and pontificating has clearly hit a nerve.

Only the other day, Kris Commons, the former Celtic player, suggested that Rodgers would face “pressure and scrutiny” if the Scottish champions’ much-analysed defence does not cut the mustard against Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League.

Asked if the defence was something of a priority when it came to doing some shopping, Rodgers responded with quiet, shrugging nonchalance. “Not for me, no,” he said. So there’s sufficient strength in depth? “Yes,” he added.

Others will probably disagree, of course. Erik Sviatchenko, the Danish centre-half, returned to his native land this week to join his former club FC Midtjylland on loan until the end of the season, while Lazio are keen on signing Jozo Simunovic.

Rodgers has signed the experienced German defender Marvin Compper but he has injured his calf and is out for at least a month. He is ineligible for next month’s match with Roberto Mancini’s big-spending Zenit anyway.

Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata, meanwhile, have endured some hefty criticism this season, particularly after the grisly thumpings doled out to Celtic by Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich

The prospect of Celtic turning to a defensive pairing of Nir Bitton and the 19-year-old Kristoffer Ajer against Zenit is clearly worrying certain observers but Rodgers is turning a deaf ear to the teeth gnashing coming from outside sources.

With the suggestion being put to the Northern Irishman that his wheelings and dealings were coming under scrutiny, Rodgers said: “By who? Scrutiny by who?” When it was added that Commons had been throwing his tuppence worth into the pot, the Celtic manager delivered a fairly dismissive sigh and added: “Right, Kris Commons.”

Rodgers did elaborate, however. “I’m about deeds, not words,” he said. “I’ve heard some s**t since I’ve been up here. But I’m only worried about deeds.

“That’s the part of your [the media] industry that I don’t like. I don’t want to stand here and waste my time. I have a mountain of things to do rather than talk about speculation, or what Kris Commons or other guys think. Everyone has an opinion but the opinions are not always the reality.”

Speculation and rumour is part and parcel of the transfer window. It can be a frenzied period riven with pandemonium and panic buys. Rodgers won’t be rushed into any purchases, though.

“We know what we want and we’re pretty calm on that,” he declared. “We just need to bring in quality. I’m not concerned about the numbers we bring in. The job here is to bring in quality to improve the level we are at and that usually takes time.”

Rodgers conceded that his squad is stretched. “But it’s okay,” he said. “We have a good squad and this is a chance to bring young players up and see how they cope and develop. Then we can look to get one or two in.”

In addition to the injury to new-signing Compper, Patrick Roberts will not be back until next month while Tom Rogic could be out for “six to eight weeks”.

Leigh Griffiths didn’t train yesterday having twisted an ankle while Stuart Armstrong was on his way back from Germany after undergoing an operation on a hernia.

“He should be back training in 10 days,” noted Rodgers. “We’ve gone for the best treatment possible so he went straight to Munich for his operation. He was playing with the problem and it just got worse and worse so it was best to operate now.”

There were other bits and bobs of housekeeping that popped up in the conversation. Any progress on Boyata’s contract? “Nothing on that,” said Rodgers. What about a bid for Besiktas defender Dusko Tosic? “First I’ve heard,” he added.

And on that note, it was all said and done.