Brendan Rodgers has had his say in the wake of Michael Beale’s dismissal from Rangers, following a 3-1 loss to Aberdeen that left the Ibrox side trailing Celtic by seven points.
When questioned about Beale’s exit, Rodgers took a moment to discuss the unforgiving nature of football management and extended his best wishes to his former rival. He stated: “I’m always saddened when any manager loses their job, no matter what club they work at. When you manage Celtic or Rangers, they’re big pressure jobs. I’m sure Michael will go away and reflect on his time here and no doubt he’ll come back in again.
“He’s an outstanding young coach and manager. He’ll reflect on the pressure he was understand, the expectation and the stress this job can bring.” Rodgers told CelticTV.
“He will learn from it and get another job and make a success out of it, I am pretty sure. Whatever club, whoever it is, it’s not nice when someone loses their position and I hope for him the best for the future.”
Rodgers also praised his team’s resilience, particularly evident in their last-minute 2-1 victory over Motherwell, courtesy of a stoppage-time goal from Matt O’Riley. However, he cautioned that the Champions League is a different beast altogether, especially after their initial 2-0 loss to Feyenoord.
In his pre-match briefing, Rodgers was clear that anything less than 100% effort won’t suffice, especially against a struggling Lazio side that currently sits 16th in Serie A. He said: “We got off to, in terms of result, not a great start but I saw many aspects I was pleased with the team. But to come here and play this game is always special.”
From a Celtic perspective, it’s crucial to seize this opportunity and show that the Hoops are a force to be reckoned with, not just domestically but also on the European stage.
In the SPFL we keep finding a way to win in recent times. We must transfer that to European football.
