Brendan Rodgers has stressed he returned to Celtic to push the club on in Europe – and is “very confident” they can sign players who can help him achieve that goal.
The Hoops remain unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership this season but crashed out of Europe in midweek after a 2-0 defeat against Lazio in the Champions League.
They have now gone 15 Champions League group games without victory, a run stretching back to Rodgers’ first spell in charge.
Sunday 3rd December 11:00am
Kick off 12:00pm
Luis Palma has been the standout success story of Celtic’s eight summer signings, but they have together made only nine starts between them in five European games.
The departure of Josip Juranovic, Giorgos Giamoukais, Jota, Aaron Mooy and Carl Starfelt has made it difficult for Celtic to improve on their previous Champions League campaign, when they collected two points.
Rodgers said: “There’s no doubt now that, one, the squad will come down in numbers and obviously we need to add quality.
“There is no dressing it up, the group lost real quality players in the summer. That’s something that over the coming windows we will look to improve on.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Brendan Rodgers has told Sky Sports News there is a
Celtic made a £40.7m profit last season and fans are calling for more money to be invested in the squad.
Rodgers added: “The supporters have every right to demand the highest level. That’s what we demand here also.
“The club have been so well run for so many years and from a domestic perspective that’s been highlighted in what the club have achieved.
“I think the next step is the European side and that’s why I came back, to hopefully be able to fulfil that in my time here.
“I felt when I came in here in the summer, with the squad that was already in place from last season, that we probably needed four players. By that I meant four quality players to add to the squad.
Luis Palma has impressed since joining Celtic in the summer
“Now, how the game works, you lose players, and there were players that were earmarked to come here prior to me coming here.
“That’s absolutely fine, there’s no problem, we have got young talents here that will develop and grow and that’s the model of the club, but of course to continue to improve and grow you need to also have players who are established
because they help bring those players up.
“And I am very, very confident that we can do that over the coming windows.
“Once we get some of our players back, Daizen (Maeda), Liel Abada, very important players for us, Reo Hatate when he comes back in January will be like a new signing for us.
“But there’s no doubt we have to add extra quality. We don’t need quantity of players, you need quality and that’s how you improve.”
Reo Hatate is out until after Christmas with a hamstring injury
Rodgers added a caveat that January is not the best window to sign new players.
Ahead of Sunday’s Scottish Premiership match against St Johnstone, live on Sky Sports, he said: “My sole focus is the players we have and maximising what they are bringing to the game. So far this season, without having a settled team through injuries, the players have performed domestically very well and in Europe they have had some really good moments.
“But the beauty and excitement for me is that I know it will improve and that’s what I look forward to.
“It doesn’t necessarily all have to be in January because the right players might not be available. It might be the summer, but certainly over my time here we want to improve the depth and quality.
“If in January we can do that, then I’m pretty sure the club will give us every chance to improve the team.”
Follow Celtic with Sky Sports
Follow every Celtic game in the Scottish Premiership this season with our live blogs on the Sky Sports website and app, and watch match highlights for free.
Want the Celtic latest? Bookmark our Celtic news page, check out Celtic’s fixtures and Celtic’s latest results, watch Celtic’s goals and video, keep track of the Scottish Premiership table and see which Celtic games are coming up live on Sky Sports.
Get all this and more – including notifications sent straight to your phone – by downloading the Sky Sports Scores app and setting Celtic as your favourite team.