Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers could reportedly choose to axe some big names at Parkhead at the end of this season, following some recent criticism of his squad.
Rodgers criticises Celtic squad
The Hoops may have thumped Kilmarnock 5-1 at home in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday afternoon, but that’s not to say that Rodgers is entirely happy about what he is seeing from his players currently.
The 52-year-old was hugely unimpressed with Celtic’s performance in the 1-0 defeat away to St Johnstone last week, making his feeling clear after the game: “Bitterly disappointing. It’s a huge credit to St Johnstone and congratulations to them. For us, poor start to the game, but not the first time and this is something for me that we will look at, certainly in the summer.”
Rodgers clearly hated what he saw in that game, and while some may look at the league table and feel it was an overreaction, with title glory still inevitable this season, it highlights the standards that the Irishman sets.
It could be argued that his strong words after the defeat played a big part in Celtic’s aforementioned thumping of Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday, with his players knowing that a response was required. Now, a new update has emerged regarding the manager’s approach this summer.
Rodgers could axe big Celtic names
According to Football Insider, Rodgers “won’t hesitate to swing the axe” and get rid of some high-profile Celtic players in the summer transfer window.
The individuals in question are said to have had a “sharp decline in form” recently and the Hoops boss could decide that enough is enough once the current campaign reaches its conclusion. Greg Taylor is used as an example in the report, with the left-back linked with an exit earlier this month.
This is undoubtedly a ruthless stance from Rodgers, but arguably one that needs to be taken, given some of the complacency that has been on show of late.
Prior to the win over Kilmarnock, the Hoops had lost three of their previous six Scottish Premiership matches, including a 3-2 defeat at home to Rangers, doing their best efforts to let their rivals back into the title race.
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While wholesale changes aren’t needed at Celtic this summer, freshening up the squad has to be a priority for Rodgers, as he brings in new faces and gets rid of those he believes have reached the end of their time at Parkhead.
Taylor is out of contract at the end of the season, as is James McCarthy, while a decision needs to be made about whether Jeffrey Schupp’s loan move will become permanent or not.
