'Depends what ambition is': Brendan Rodgers addresses Celtic transfers and explains Shin Yamada absence
Celtic soundly beaten by Ajax as manager wants more quality to progress team
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers refused to panic after watching his team slump to a 5-1 friendly defeat by Ajax - but again reiterated that new signings must be made if the club is to “really progress”.
The Scottish champions were soundly beaten by Ajax in the Como Cup, with Yang Hjun-jun scoring midway through the first half for Celtic. However, the wheels came off for Rodgers’ men after the break, conceding four goals without reply at Stadio Guiseppe Sinigaglia.
Celtic sign off on the banks of Lake Como on Saturday against Al Ahli and asked about a pressing need for new signings, Rodgers told journalists in Italy: “It depends what your ambition is. If your ambition is to really progress and push forward, then we need to improve the squad.
“But I can't fault the players. The players that are here, they've been working so well, so hard and you see some of the play and how they work has been very, very good. However, if you want to progress, then, as I said, you need to bring in quality and that's something that we hopefully can do.”
On the match itself, Rodgers continued: “I think the scoreline didn’t quite reflect the game. I think that the first 60 minutes we played a lot of really good football with physicality, we broke through their pressure, scored one, could have had more.
“I just thought the last 30 minutes, we've pushed the players really hard in the pre-season, so it looked a wee bit leggy. But that aside, we should keep the ball better and can be better in duels, so there's no doubt we lost out on that. Then the two final goals are probably a consequence of that.
‘Really good moments’ for Celtic
“There were enough really good moments in the game, but certainly the last 30 minutes, we would want to be better. I think that's the nature of a pre-season. It's designed to grow and by the end of it, you've had really good tests.”
Rodgers was unable to play new striker Shin Yamada after it was revealed that he did not have international clearance. The recent signing was in Como and watched on from sidelines. Celtic are hopeful he can play a part against Al Ahli.
“We were told late on he wasn't registered,” said Rodgers. “He couldn't play in the game. It was a UEFA game. I think we thought it would be through. So, he obviously came with us and travelled. But then, later on, an hour before the game, we were told he wasn't.
“We hope he'll be okay for Saturday. Hopefully for the player. So, let's see where that goes tomorrow.”
Celtic begin their competitive action against St Mirren a week on Sunday in the Premiership.
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