CELTIC have got the gaffer, now they need the workmen. Brendan Rodgers has put the first bricks of his Parkhead project in place with the appointments of Chris Davies and Glen Driscoll but it is the next stage of the rebuilding work and the arrival of players that is eagerly anticipated.
Having inherited a bloated squad from Ronny Deila, the Northern Irishman has spent the days since his unveiling learning as much as he can about the players that are at his disposal as he ponders who to keep and who to look to move on.
The arrival of Rodgers has given supporters a timely shot in the arm, and the acquisition of a handful of new recruits will only heighten expectation levels ahead of the new campaign.
Read more: Brendan Rodgers gets to work at Lennoxtown
Celtic have their sights set on six-in-a-row and Champions League football next term and, having already invested heavily in Rodgers, are now expected to give him the funds to ensure they maintain their place as the top side in the country. They are building on solid foundations, but Murdo MacLeod knows they must keep striving for further improvements.
“They know Rangers are back in the top flight and are still building to make themselves better,” MacLeod said. “Celtic know they can’t be caught cold by not doing anything about, so they’ve done something by bringing in a top class manager.
Read more: Dougie Freedman: signing Joey Barton turns Rangers into a title contender
“That’s the secret now. How much money will he be given and what type of player will he bring in? If he brings in the level of player he is used to working with, he is going to make Celtic a much better team.
“You start at the back. They have to make sure they have a consistent back four. In the middle of the park, there are far too many players and you can’t keep them all satisfied all year. Some guys will only get four or five games a year and that’s not enough for a top class player. They have to trim that down then bring in a couple of midfielders who are better than what they’ve got.
“I’ve always said that when Ronny arrived at Celtic, he had worked with a certain level of player in Norway and thought when he came to Celtic that the players he had here were great. Everyone was better than those he’d had in Norway. But they haven’t been good enough for European campaigns.
“Now they’ve brought in a manager who has operated at the highest level in the English Premiership, so if Brendan is bringing in players at that level, that will make Celtic a better team.”
Having splashed the cash to lure Rodgers north of the border, the Parkhead board will now have to open the chequebook on several more occasions in the coming weeks. It is only natural that Rodgers will want to put his own stamp on the squad, and that won’t come cheap.
It will, of course, be done on a budget, but to beat the best you have to bring in the best possible.
“I think they have to do that [burst the pay structure],” MacLeod said. “You can talk about spending three, four, five million pounds on a player but Celtic don’t have the money to bring in three of four players of that ilk. So you have to look at loan players or those who are out of contract and pay them a lot of money.
“They’ve just got to bite the bullet and make sure they qualify. If he does that, it’s a success because they’ll not only get the Champions League money, but they’ll fill the stadium again.
“Celtic know the challenge is on, not only domestically, but at European level. Most of the Celtic fans have been disappointed with the recent European campaigns and those have always been the highlights for the club. Right now, the Board have got to make sure it is going to be pleasing to watch Celtic play in Europe.”
The Champions League qualifiers in a matter of weeks will be Rodgers’ first tests as Celtic boss, but he will soon face another once the Premiership gets under way. He will encounter a renewed challenge from Aberdeen and Hearts, but also a Rangers side that have their own dreams of top flight glory.
“They shouldn’t have a fear of Rangers, but with Rangers winning the semi-final it lets you know that they are a threat,” MacLeod speaking at a Ladbrokes even ahead of Euro 2016, said. “Celtic thought they had a settled squad and everything was fine and they wouldn’t have had to change much going into the new season.
“But Rangers had already been saying that they would be bringing in more players, so everybody knew they would be better next season - and yet they’ve already beaten Celtic with the squad they’ve got.
“Celtic have to look across the city and see they are going to have a challenge. Rangers will be up there - whether they are first, second, third or fourth. Celtic have got to make sure that they are going to win the Old Firm games and be a better team than Rangers.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here