Brendan Rodgers is under pressure to add new faces to the Celtic first-team this summer.
The Celtic manager has spoken publicly about the need to strengthen the Hoops first-team ahead of the new season but, as yet, there is no further new arrivals.
The UEFA deadline to strengthen Celtic ahead of the Champions League play-off place is today. However, Rodgers knows that a little-known rule from the governing body still allows him to add two further players to his European squad.
And as the Hoops boss took in the pre-match press conference for Celtic’s League Cup tie with Falkirk, Rodgers hit back at the Celtic critics who are taking the shine off the club’s good start to the league campaign.
Brendan Rodgers spells out what’s ‘gone unnoticed’ about Celtic this season
Wins against St Mirren and Aberdeen have put an early four-point gap between Celtic and Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
And that fact seems to have irked the Celtic boss.
Rodgers told Sky Sports, “The club has always notoriously done business towards the end of the window.
“And I’ve said it before, I think that all managers and coaches want the players in as soon as we can, because pre-season is for preparation, and you want to be as prepared as you possibly can be.
“So the players we get or not, what I know is that the players that are here, what has gone on unnoticed a little bit, is that we’ve made a really good start with two really good wins and played well.
“I know we’ll get better and I can’t knock the performances over the two games to get the results.”
Rodgers admits Celtic have ‘lots of stuff going on in the background’
As fans wait for the next new summer arrival, Rodgers hits back at the ‘negativity’ surrounding Celtic’s transfers and has assured that there is work being done at the club to get new players in.
Rodgers continued, “And sometimes that has been clouded quite a wee bit, and all the sort of negativity around the transfers.
“So I’m really just trying to focus on the guys that are here.
“There’s lots of stuff going on in the background, and then hopefully we can come out the end of the market in a good place.”
With just over two weeks of the transfer window to go, Celtic still have time to add fresh faces to the squad.
Rodgers knows what needs done and if Celtic’s moneymen can loosen those purse-strings then hopefully new players will not be too far away for the fans.