Brendan Rodgers urges continued Celtic progression as he enters last year of contract

Brendan Rodgers wants to see clear signs of progression at Celtic as he enters the last year of his contract.

The manager made it clear that he is not the man to be in charge over the longer term if the aim is just to maintain their current levels, and hinted he could walk away at the end of this season if his ambition isn’t matched.

As he prepares for the new Premiership campaign, last year’s league and League Cup-winning boss revealed he has yet to be offered a new deal but is relaxed about his own situation.

Over his two spells at Parkhead, Rodgers has won four out of four Premiership titles, four League Cups, and three Scottish Cups, however, he insists the hunger and desire for continued success remain.

Talks with majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and CEO Michael Nicholson were held over the summer, and the manager made it clear that while he loved his job at the club, he wanted guarantees of continued growth.

When asked about his current contract situation, as the three-year deal he signed in 2023 enters its final 12 months, he said: “There is no further update on that, and for the sake of clarity and honesty, I can tell you exactly where we are at.

“I said when I came back here that I would do three years minimum, and people had me out the door at the end of last season or going various places, and I said then, like I will say now, there is nowhere to go, and I love being here.

“I’ve done two years and I have one more year to go, Dermot, Michael and I had a conversation over the summer on where we were at and how that sits with myself and everything else.

“I said I was very happy here, but there are conditions we want in order to be able to improve and be better, because I am not the type of manager that is good at maintaining anything, and if it is just something to maintain, then I won’t be the manager of Celtic.

“But, to build and grow and develop and push forward, then of course I love being at Celtic. So when that time comes and the club offers me a deal, or not, then it doesn’t make a difference to me because I will always give everything here every single day of my life.

“So when the club feels it is the right time to make an offer then they will do that.

“It is slightly different from a manager’s perspective than a player, for a player the club needs to make sure they are tied in, especially at this time of the year if they maybe only have six months left.

“It’s different for a manger, but it doesn’t change my hunger or desire for the work I’m doing here.

“As I say I am not here to maintain levels, this is a really fast moving club and you have to keep moving quickly.

“It’s one of the biggest clubs in world football and there is always a demand and an expectation, and the only way to get better is to keep improving and developing.

“The message to the supporters is that everyone here will be doing our upmost to improve on last season, and it’s a really exciting season ahead, and if we can add where we need to add then it can be even better for us.

“For clarity, I love being here, yes there has been some challenges on the pitch, and off the pitch, since I have arrived, but that is management, that is coaching, but in the main I have absolutely loved it here and will continue to do so for however long that is.

“But, there has to be that ambition from everyone, it’s no good just the manager having it and the players not, or whatever else, everything has to be aligned. I know that the club are also very keen to progress and develop.

“In terms of my own situation; I am relaxed on it because I know what I give every single day.”

Rodgers also admitted that there “is still a bit of work to do” regarding transfers as he prepares for another assault on the three domestic competitions and a European campaign that begins with a Champions League play-off.

He said: “We still have a wee bit of work to do, I think it’s a huge credit to the guys who are here and how hard they have worked, but the squad will likely look quite different by the end of the window.

“It’s clear that we need to improve the front end of the pitch, the attacking departments will always be the main strengths of my teams, and we have some important players in those areas, so we will need to replace them.”

He also confirmed the club are closing in on a loan deal for Manchester City defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey.

The 19-year-old centre-back is in Glasgow to finalise a season-long stay with the Scottish champions, who kick off their Premiership campaign at home to St Mirren on Sunday.

The England youth international made six first-team appearances for City last season after featuring against Celtic in a pre-season friendly.

When asked about the defender, Rodgers said: “A very gifted young player.

“Obviously, coming through the system there at Manchester City, his profile fits very much what we want from our centre-halves. He’s quick, he’s dominant, he’s a good defender and of course, at Celtic, your centre-halves need to be able to progress the ball and that’s a big strength of his.

“So we’ve taken him on loan for a year. We always need all our centre-halves at Celtic. We play so many games, so many intense games and he’ll join our squad.

“He’s obviously a little bit behind because he hasn’t played so many games over the course of pre-season but we’ve brought him through for the rest of the season and hopefully we can close that one out.”