In a recent interview with Celtic TV, Brendan Rodgers expressed his excitement about his return to Celtic, likening it to a homecoming. The Irishman, who previously managed the Scottish champions, has been warmly welcomed back to the club, reuniting with many familiar faces from his previous tenure.
“It feels like coming back to family, if I’m honest,” Rodgers said, reflecting on his return to Celtic. “I’ve been given a great welcome back and it’s been great to see a lot of faces, obviously that were here when I was here the last time, so it feels really good.”
Rodgers also spoke about the current squad, acknowledging that not all players are back yet due to international duty. This situation, however, has allowed him to assess the club’s young talent.
“Normally, now in the modern game, very rarely do you get your players back at the one time,” Rodgers explained. “So that always gives you a chance to see the young players, and I’ve got to say I’ve been really impressed with, both the established guys in the first-team squad.”
He praised the attitude and fitness of the established players, noting that they have returned in excellent condition. This, he said, provides a solid foundation to build upon for the upcoming season.
“Their attitude is outstanding, and they’ve come back in really, really good condition, so they are back already fit that gives us the chance to really build on that,” Rodgers said.
The Celtic manager also had high praise for the club’s young players, many of whom he is getting to know for the first time. He expressed pleasant surprise at their ability to cope with the intensity of training with the first team.
“Of course a lot of them I haven’t known and they’ve been pleasantly surprising and really, really good,” he said. “Sometimes a young player can come in and suffer with the intensity of training with the first team, but they’ve all coped really, really well and that’s been pleasing.”
Rodgers’ return to Celtic and his enthusiasm for the talent within the squad bodes well for the upcoming season. The bhoys won a treble last season, but they must now put that behind them as they look to go make more history in the coming 12 months.
