'Spoilt' Celtic told to read the small print as Brendan Rodgers future addressed by Parkhead legend

The 56-year-old former midfielder won an impressive eight trophies with Celtic during his time with the club after joining from German giants Borussia Dortmund in 1997, where he won the Champions League with the Bundesliga outfit, and believes the surprise playoff loss to Kairat Almaty in August is having a lasting effect that is threatening to derail the club’s season.

With just one win in their last five games across all competitions, Celtic find themselves in the unusual position as the chaser in the Scottish Premiership, with last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to struggling Dundee resulting in them falling five points behind surprise title challengers Hearts. They’ve struggled in Europe too, having only picked up one point in their Europa League campaign thus far.

“Everybody expected them to get through into the main Champions League campaign,” said Lambert. “Celtic have been spoiled with year after year of being in the Champions League, so when it’s not there, it’s like a juggernaut and it’s magnified into a huge thing. They took their medicine and entered the Europa League. But what I would say is, if Celtic got to the Europa League final, nobody in green and white wouldn’t want to go.

“There’s a shock factor of being beaten by a team in a game that everybody expected to win. But I think over the two games, the lads didn’t perform, and if you don’t perform at a European level and fall below the standard of a Celtic player then that’s what happens. The criticism is in your contract – you have to read the small print. If you don’t win at Celtic and don’t play well, then you’re going to be criticised.”

Lambert, who currently works for Borussia Dortmund as the Technical Director of Southeast Asia, has also told the players to put the future of Rodgers to the back of their minds and concentrate on performing for the fans. The Celtic head coach’s contract is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, and uncertainty around his future continues to be a topic of debate.

“I don’t think as a player you should worry about what the manager is going to do” Lambert told Betway. “It’s very, very rare that you play for a manager. You play for yourself, for your teammates, you play for the club. Managers will come and go, that’s what happens, that’s the nature of the game. There were managers that I loved and loved playing under them, but once you’re out there you play for your club, play for your team and play for the supporters.

“You get good managers and some you maybe don’t get on with so well, but you still perform at the highest level. Whether you like a manager or don’t like them, you perform. I think Brendan’s situation, nobody knows what’s really happening there, whether he’s going to leave or not. I don’t think anybody can take away the achievement of what he’s done for Celtic.

“If someone has leaked that Brendan is maybe leaving, like what might have happened a few months ago, then that’s a coward’s way out- that should never have been in the public domain. Brendan and the club will know what’s happening, but he has to find a way to get the lads going again.”

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