Brendan Rodgers, the Celtic manager, has appealed to the club support to pack out Celtic Park for every game next season. Speaking to Celtic TV, Rodgers insisted that a full house for every game will send out a message about the stature of the club.
There were 13,000 supporters inside Celtic Park last Monday when Rodgers was officially unveiled as Ronny Deila’s successor, a welcome he admitted left him “humbled.” However, there were substantial numbers of empty seats last term, to the extent that Celtic closed the upper tier of the Jock Stein stand. The appointment of Rodgers has generated genuine excitement among the Parkhead support with season ticket sales reported to be substantially increased from this time last year.
And Rodgers expects that his initial welcome has whet his appetite for the atmosphere a sell-out stadium can generate. “It’s going to be a day I’m really looking forward to in terms of walking out there as the official manager in a game context,” he said.
“It can be a really exciting season for us but for that we need the supporters. I really do want to see the stadium full. This is an iconic club that is graced around the world, respected by so many supporters, so for us to sell that brand of Celtic Football Club around the world we want to make sure it’s packed. It doesn’t matter whether we are playing Rangers or a different team, it doesn’t matter. The players really respond to it. To have over 60,000 in there and the atmosphere, they create…..I felt it with 13,000. The noise level was incredible so to send that message out, not just to Scotland but around the world, having a full Celtic Park with over 60,000 with that noise, that’s something I’m really looking forward to seeing.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers has revealed that he has already spoken with many of the Celtic squad members over the phone, although he has dined with club captain Scott Brown. The pair met at Rodgers’ home in London to discuss Rodgers’ vision for the club and the philosophy that he would like to implement.
“We were able to meet and have a real good chat,” he said. “He has been here a long time and he has been here through good times and tough times so it was good to get his opinion on how things are how it looks for him at the club and also for me to introduce myself to the club captain and talk through my ideas about how I would like it to work. It was very good. I spoke to a number on the players on the phone also. It has been good but I am really looking forward to the 20th, the first day back in, and getting to meet all the players and talk through hoe we want to go forward.
“We will be in on and off up until that point. The staff are continually working in relation to our preparation for that but the players first day is the 20th. It will be a chance to talk though how we want to go forward and then obviously the hard work begins. It will be a long season but I think it will be an exciting one and I can’t wait to get started.”
Chris Davies, Rodgers’ assistant, will speak to the press this morning at Celtic Park. Rodgers has brought in Davies as well as Glen Driscoll as Head of Performance, men he has an established working relationship with for well over a decade.
“He [Davies] is an outstanding young coach, he has a great mind for football and I think the players will really benefit from working with him,” said Rodgers.
“Glen had a great experience working with top-class players in a top-class environment at the highest level. He was there [Chelsea] for nearly ten years and we worked together when I was coaching the youth team in the reserves. I moved on to become a manager and he stayed to be the physical conditioner for Gus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti, he has worked with Felipe Scolari and Jose Mourinho so he has a real lot of experience. His role will purely be to build that bridge between the on-field preparation and the medical side which is very important. The medical team here are very good. Glen will provide that hybrid for the sports science team, to understand more how I work on the field and he will work to condition the players as well.”
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