Celtic's Brendan Rodgers' season so far in his own words

There was initial hostility to the prodigal son's return as the Celtic supporters were certainly split into two camps - pro and against Rodgers - and all to do with the way he departed the club for Leicester City in 2019. Now -  as we are well in the festive season - the faithful aren't exactly lining up to dust down the Wham! rendition of 'Last Christmas' whereby the supporters give their heart to the Northern Irishman.

It's been a case of crash, bang wallop for the champions since Rodgers took over the helm for a second stint in charge.

Crash - crashed out of the Scottish Cup at the first time of asking by Kilmarnock

Bang - gunned down in the Champions League group stage and no European football after Christmas

Wallop - an early eight-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership has all but evaporated

As a festive treat, TCW writer Tony Haggerty has delved into the recent archives and unearthed the best of Rodgers quotes from the season so far.

READ MORE: Why Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic prophecy may claim him as a victim

June:

On his unveiling... 

"I am very privileged and honoured to be asked to come back. I planned to have a year out and reset again but once I spoke to the guys at the club and looked a bit more deeply into where the club was at, it was then pretty straightforward. The club is in a fantastic place and it made me excited to come back. It wasn't a nostalgic move but I had an amazing time here when I was here but I am here to win going forward. I am looking forward to hopefully achieving that."

On Europe... 

"It's well documented over the years when the club hasn't qualified or had a good record. Even though that's a challenge given the resources other clubs have, it's a great one for us. We look to have European football after Christmas."

On Celtic fan reaction to his return... 

"I would understand how fans would feel. Even when I was doing well I would have had critics. But it was an emotional time, the club was going for 10-in-a-row. I never get too emotional with words. The pressure is greater because of what we did the first time around but I relish that. Hopefully, I can prove to those who don't want me here and shift their opinion. I hope I can still have that relationship with the fanbase. It was a sad moment when I left. I don't regret it but I regret the hurt it caused people. I understood what it meant. That was my regret - that I hurt people who were Celtic supporters. Hopefully, in time, I can give you the feeling I gave you the first time. I don't expect anything. If I get the support then that's great. For those who doubt, I've had it all my career and continue to work hard, hopefully producing a team that plays with commitment."

On being back...

"I've signed for three years and I guarantee I'll be here for three years unless I get emptied before that!"

On message to fans (at press conference)... 

"It has to be unified, it has to be together. Like we were the first time, we created special memories. Let's hope we can do that again."

On message to fans (on the steps at Celtic Park)... 

"For those that have been with me and always with me, let’s enjoy the journey. For those I need to convince – I’ll see you here in May.”

July

On losing 6-4 to Yokohama F. Marinos during a pre-season friendly...

"It was a tough schedule for us in terms of arriving here so quickly. This is a good team and they are pretty much three-quarters of the way through their season. It was perfect for what we needed with the fitness levels we needed to be at, and there's still a lot of work to do on that front. We can't lose track of the priority at this stage. You can never go on results and we need to build that fitness and you can see Yokohama were that bit sharper. We will get to that point but we have to focus on our physicality and that will improve over the coming weeks. The main priority was our fitness and we will have benefited. That's what pre-season is for. It's for flushing out all of those mistakes and building your fitness up, and we can build that throughout pre-season."

August

On what Celtic means to him... 

“I think going away probably made me realise what I had and I was never sure if I would have that again.”

On ambitions at the start of the new season...

“For a club like Celtic, it’s always about winning but winning in the best way you possibly can. That will be the idea again this season, to win three trophies, it’s an incredible achievement. But it’s a new season, new motivation and new desires. The mentality is, rather than defend it, we want to win it.”

On transfer process... 

"It's pretty simple in terms of how it works," he said. "Ultimately, I will develop and coach the players that the club provide me, and the process of the club providing me with the players is we have a great network of scouts headed up by Mark (Lawell), who I've said before has done a fantastic job within the model of the club, which allows the club to be sustainable and successful at the same time. So, they have a pipeline of players that will fit in, but then it's about packaging the profile that fits us best and of course, I play a part in that. But they do a lot of great work; they watch players over several months so that they have various players for each position."

On being bundled out of the League Cup by Kilmarnock...

"We didn't do enough when we had the ball. We didn't show enough personality and didn't show the quality to win the game. You have to give all the credit to Kilmarnock. They defended strongly, got their blocks in and took one of the few chances they had in the game. I have to analyse ourselves, though, and the quality wasn't good enough in the game."

September

On the build-up to the Rangers game at Ibrox...

“I know how to win and I know what it takes to win, and I’ll show the players. It might not be in the first game of the season but throughout the season, and the course of my time here, I believe we will do that. This club’s history is built on fighting right until the end.”

On beating Rangers 1-0 with a makeshift team...

“I understand I have been placed on death watch by the media. Whatever the result today I’m an experienced manager now and I’m staying calm but that’s where you are powerless as a coach. For me, I understand what we have, I understand what we are missing. Until we get the level of player back that will make a difference in some of our games we have to keep working and developing and improving and I have absolutely no doubt we will do that as the season grows. Listen, it’s three wins and a draw in the league and some of the games have been good, but we are still piecing together a team which will look a lot more like it by the end of the season.”

On Kyogo Furuhashi's winning strike...

"He (Kyogo) takes it early at the edge of the box but that's what he does. He went through in the first half and you expect him to score, another moment in the second half when he chopped inside and slipped. He is such a threat playing on the last line, he was very good."

On the 2-0 opening Champions Group E loss to Feyenoord...

"I feel for the players, I think for the first 60 minutes it was a very even game against a team that’s doing well and scoring a lot of goals, and we matched them. I am Disappointed with the first]goal. We decided the game to adjust the wall and it cost us but we’ll take that, I don’t mind players making decisions in-game."

On the two dismissals in the same game...

 "I am very disappointed with the two red cards and nine men is very difficult. If we get to the last game to play Feyenoord at home with everything to play for, we’ll be in with a fantastic chance. First one you just have to shepherd it through to the goalkeeper, don’t get into the fight as it’s getting to Joe Hart, it’s just inexperience. Odin Thiago Holm is a fantastic young player, he’ll learn from that. You can’t go to ground like that, particularly in Europe, and he’ll learn."

READ MORE: Why Celtic fans have a right to be concerned by this season

October

On last-minute 2-1 Champions League defeat to Lazio at Celtic Park...

"We're bitterly disappointed. To concede late on like we did, it's harsh on us. But, there is learning there, you have to secure the ball in the game and if you're not going to win it at that stage, you certainly can't lose it. The players gave everything, we have the mentality, everything. I'm just disappointed for the players and supporters that we couldn't get the result. It was a devastating way to lose a game because we deserved something from it, but we'll analyse it and learn the lessons from it."

On the 2-2 Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid... 

"That was a really good performance, but we just couldn't get the win. I don't think you can say they'll fly back to Spain not knowing they've had a tough game. They didn't create so much. Their equaliser was fantastic and shows the quality at this level. Our reaction to the game was superb, having the courage and the bravery to play. We showed we could compete with a top-level team. We can create opportunities. We can play the game the way we want to play."

November

On the 6-0 Champions League defeat to Atletico in the Metropolitano...

"I'm very, very, very disappointed. it was always going to be a challenge for us 11 v 11. We were ready to fight in the game, but I'm disappointed with the sending-off. When you see the images that the referee has seen, it isn't representative of the actual challenge. For us to lose a man for that was always going to be difficult. We're four games in and we haven't got the points that we deserve. It's a huge gulf, you see that. These players gave everything. The sheer quality of Atletico overrides our effort. I feel for the players. We were undeserving of the red card, and when we get it, it's a huge challenge."

On being officially knocked out of the Champions League group stage after the 2-0 away loss to Lazio in Rome...

“In the last 20 minutes, we looked like the team that could go on and get the result, but we gave away two poor goals. This group has gained more experience and shown they can compete in some games – but we need to add quality. That’s the glaring thing that stands out.”

On European dream...

"We always have to dream that we can do that. That’s what being a coach/manager/player/supporter is. If I thought there was never any hope, then there’s no point in doing it. My dream always is for Celtic to be at the very highest level of European football. And for the players to go and challenge themselves against that, and as a manager and as a coach to challenge against that."

On transfer policy... 

"No player has been pushed onto me. We have a structure and set up and we are planning for the longer term in our signing strategy. I make the final decision on whether we sign a player."

On Champions League strategy and ambitions... 

"The current squad is too big and that is something we are aware of. In the next two windows, the club will aim for quality and the numbers we want. Celtic have been competitive in the UCL but we are well aware that the level is so high. Teams want young players but you need experience. The club tried to buy young and if a big league calls, it is hard to keep players here. I'd love to win the Champions League but you have to have some perspective and realise the challenges. I have experience of getting results against big teams but it’ll take time."

On VAR... 

“Listen, if you ask me right now, I would get rid of it. Absolutely, but if there’s money invested in it, for the greater good of the game, that is supposedly to make it better, then you have to give it every chance. If you’re asking me now, I would go back to just pure football, and we know where there are humans involved there will be mistakes. I would rather accept that than what we see at the minute.”

December

On losing the rag at half-time against St Johnstone in Perth...

“I’m still angry if I’m honest. The first half was nowhere near what you expect from a Celtic player and team. Just the level of intensity and ambition in the game, the speed, we were nowhere near it. We got bullied for the goal and we were soft in everything, with and without the ball. Half-time was the angriest I’ve ever been as a manager. People who have been around me will know I’m normally very calm. It was nothing tactical; this was about desire and what it takes to play for this club. Thankfully in the second half, the players were brilliant. Callum McGregor was outstanding, and I got more of the energy and ambition that I wanted. The second half, was a real testament to the players because they could have folded and been nervy, but they got to the level I demand from them. They scored fantastic goals and we could have had more. It’s a reminder that if you go soft if you go timid against any team, they can hurt you. It’s comfort. It’s the biggest pitfall in succeeding, that you become timid and lose your aggression. It’s easily done, but it’s my job to guard against it. It was just nowhere near the level. I said to the players afterwards, don’t make me be like that again. Don’t ever make me feel I have to get to that level. My teams will normally be front-foot, demanding and constant, but that’s not acceptable. No matter what success they have had over the last couple of years, there is a demand at this club to continually succeed. It’s ambition. Some players want to be too comfortable and just do enough. It’s not enough at this club.”

On why Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki were not getting game time or in matchday squads...

"It's always personality. There are players ahead of them. What always ticks my attention is training, I'm out there every day watching training and when I see players train and work with that personality they will edge closer to my thinking. Unfortunately, for Maik and Gustaf, Scales has come to the team and has taken his opportunity. Nat Phillips has been a great positive influence. It's an area of the team you don't want to change too much."

On exiting the Champions League on a high by beating Feyenoord 2-1...

"Some people might have thought this was a nothing game but this meant everything to us. To get the victory, to feel the confidence to be able to compete at this level. I said to the players this is a competition and a level that can dent your confidence, but when you finish it you're going to be better players for it."

On signing quality players...

"There's no doubt now that, one, the squad will come down in numbers and 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."

On losing to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park for the second time this season...

“I thought in the first half we were very good. We played at a good speed and created opportunities. We could maybe have been more than 1-0 up by half-time. In the second half, we never got started. You expect a wee bit of pressure for 10 or 15 minutes, which we weathered at set-pieces and corners. We never passed the ball. We were under a bit more pressure, sure, but you have to be resistant to that pressure. We weren’t able to make passes to take us up the pitch and that was the biggest disappointment of the second half. We couldn’t sustain any attacking threat in the game. When you play Kilmarnock it’s quite a direct game so you have to be able to win the first, second and third balls. But we didn’t do that. “We spoke after the game about how this isn’t how we want to play. In the second half, we played their game instead of playing our game. I thought we got rid of the ball in the second half instead of passing it. There is a big difference. We ended up being too negative in our passing. If you play a team that’s pressing and right up against you there, you’ve got to pass the ball forward. Because that forward pass eliminates pressure. And we weren’t able, for some reason, to do that.”

On losing 2-0 to Hearts at Celtic Park to record back-to-back Premiership losses "Firstly I have to issue an apology to the supporters. I don't think I have ever had to do that in my time here before or this time. The performance today was nowhere near the level of what is expected of a Celtic player and a Celtic team. I felt like we could have played all night and not scored. I'm not surprised by the display if I am honest. It is about consistency and mentality and I have seen it from within the team from time to time. I'm surprised that we have produced that level of performance at home. When I see the St Johnstone first half and having to activate that at half-time and then Kilmarnock away and today then it disappoints me greatly. We've not shown the necessary determination and our passive nature with and without the ball was a concern. That can happen to any group. It is one of the pitfalls of success. Teams when they have periods of success have to keep refreshing the squad and the quality. Listen, we have to reflect on it and it is a sore one for the fans. Overall, it was a disappointing result and I need to take responsibility for that. It is my job to inspire the team and to produce the levels that are required here."