Celtic’s 2024/25 campaign is about to kick-off and the challenges in the first half of the season will come thick and fast.
Early Scottish Premiership action will include trips to St Mirren and a derby against Rangers, with the Scottish League Cup draw already made too.
On the continent, Celtic are entering a new-look UEFA Champions League. The group stage has been replaced by a 36-team ‘League Phase’ – a giant table with more matches for each side than ever before.
For the Bhoys, it’s a chance to test themselves against more Pot 3 and Pot 4 level teams and potentially pick up more points, with the top 24 progressing to a knockout stage in 2025.
Brendan Rodgers believes the club can make that breakthrough into a knockout tie for the first time since 2012 and knows what is needed to make it happen.
Brendan Rodgers on Celtic’s Champions League chances
The manager said in a media conference this week [Celtic FC]: “For me, I want us to be able to get into a play-off position. I think that it’s a balance because you’re playing teams that are at really high level, but you’ve now got 8 games.
“We are also being realistic as well, the club has won one game in so many years at home. That shouldn’t stop us pushing. I think that with the right quality of player at that level that can help us then I believe we can do that. I’ve got every confidence that we can do that.
“We were very close last year. Some will run down because they look purely at the fact we didn’t qualify. However, if you actually come away and magnify in on the games, we won one and could have very easily won the other two. The games away from home were close as well, the Atletico Madrid game away was a tough one for us.
“For me, success will always be to try and come out of the group stages, but I know what we need for that. Otherwise, it can be a real, real challenge.
“We’ll always look to play in the way we want to play. There are different ways to succeed but for me, we’ll look to play like we did recently in pre-season with Man City and Chelsea. You’re playing top players but you want to take the game to them and put your style of football across.
“However, you know there’s a balance and you have to defend at times. That balance is what has pleased me as time has gone on here. We want to be aggressive and hopefully, we can stay with that same mentality.”
Rodgers has ambition but the club must deliver what he ‘needs’
The manager isn’t holding back with what he thinks Celtic can do on the continent but he also qualifies his knockout round ambition with a nod to new players coming in via the transfer market.
It remains to be seen whether the club can deliver the signings he wants to put together a European calibre squad.
As it stands, you’d have to say it doesn’t have the depth nor the quality to make an impact. But with a few fresh faces in key positions over the next month then Rodgers certainly feels that progress can be made.
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