Daizen Maeda given Henrik Larsson comparison by Brendan Rodgers

The Celtic Star

·4 febbraio 2025

Daizen Maeda given Henrik Larsson comparison by Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers spoke to the media a little later than usual this afternoon, ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership clash with Dundee at Celtic Park with the Celtic manager noting that a win will take his side 13 points clear with 13 games to go…

Jeffrey Schlupp of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

As you would expect there was plenty said about the transfer window that closed last night with Celtic signing Jeffrey Schlupp on loan from Crystal Palace minutes before the window ‘slammed shut’. Schlupp joins Jota as the two January signings as Celtic failed to secure a striker to replace Kyogo after the want-away Japanese striker joined French side Rennes. Here’s everything that was said…

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Jota celebrates his first goal goal after rejoining Celtic, Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Brendan, how do you look back on deadline day and the window as a whole?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, we’ve done some really good business in the window. Probably one or two things that didn’t quite drop for us that we would have liked. But however it ends, you know the squad you have. Fundamentally, we’re here to develop the players now for the rest of the season that are here. So, bringing in Jota, fantastic player for us. We can see that even just in his return, those early stages. So, we’re excited to work with him. Jeffrey we bring in and I’m delighted to have him in here. We obviously weren’t planning to lose Alex Valle but to be able to then bring in a really experienced player who’s got great physical qualities, technical qualities, big experience to support Greg. Then yeah, we’re obviously delighted with those guys coming in.”

Q: Obviously you’ve been speaking a lot about strikers since Kyogo went. What level of frustration do you attach to not being able to bring in a replacement in that area?

Brendan Rodgers: “Virtually all my career, I’ve got really good players. Some world-class players in the January window. But it’s sometimes about the availability. It’s sometimes about the affordability. There is a little bit of a premium in January, of course, in this period. You may have to pay a little bit more, but that’s natural. But I didn’t think there was anything too outward to what would hurt us as a club.”

Brendan Rodgers chats to Kieran Tierney at the Celtic FC Foundation event in London on Friday 11 October 2024. Photo: Celtic FC Foundation

Q: How close were you, or were you close to getting Kieran Tierney up in January?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, it wasn’t close. I think it was clear, obviously, Kieran is for the summer. If that was the possibility, then that was on Arsenal’s terms. If it was to happen, then great. But clearly, he was a part of their squad. He’ll be here in the summer.”

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Johnny Kenny doing his Celtic debut. Ross County v Celtic in Dingwall. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Q: Are you concerned that you might have just might be a bit light for Bayern Munich? Obviously, Johnny (Kenny) can do a job but Daizen is suspended for the first leg as well. So, don’t you have a huge amount of options, assuming that Adam is available?

Brendan Rodgers: “There’s no doubt that the squad is lighter. There’s no doubt, but we’ll work hard. We’ll focus in on this next four months. It’s a really exciting period for us, going into these games. We’ll have a tighter squad, but also a squad that is improving in development. I think that’s sometimes what gets missed, especially when you have younger players. I think there’s still improvement in this squad, but it’ll be tighter than what it was before. We sold some players on, made great money for them. Some have went on loan to get more experience. As I said, we’ll work with the players that are here and it’ll be tighter than what it was before.”

Brendan Rodgers on media duties during the Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on 29 January 2025. Photo Manjit Narotra PSI

Q: You mentioned the club perhaps learning lessons from the window. What things can you do better? Is it better follow-up planning, especially when you get things like qualifiers to maybe negotiate in the summer?

Brendan Rodgers: “I think in terms of that aspect of it, we’re all clear. I think I mentioned that before. We’re a club that understands that January window can be really important when you’re in the qualification phase, that hasn’t been the case for a number of years. But certainly in my time here, when we had to go through qualifications, January was an important window in order to prepare ourselves for that moment. I think in terms of that, it’s always been the case. I don’t think there’s anything new that sprung up to surprise anyone. We understood what we needed to improve the squads. We’re clear on that. Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen for us.

Q: The recruitment guys, do they now have a job on their hands to be ready for the next window? To make sure that when it opens next time, the club is ready to go and get the guys you need?

Brendan Rodgers: “Listen, I don’t want to pin blame on anyone here. I think as a collective, it wasn’t ideal how it ended for us. We have to, as a club now, go away and look at that, like we’ll do in every window, that’s what you have to do. You look around, of course, there wasn’t a great deal happening. But certainly all I was concerned was for Celtic and what I needed to happen here. So we’ll look into that and move forward.”

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Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: You touched on it on Sunday about not falling out with yourself. Is that something you’re consciously trying to take a step back and show how you enjoy being a Celtic manager and not create waves?

Brendan Rodgers: “Obviously, I know the demands of here. I know the ambition I have for here. I think what’s very, very important is that what you learn through experience is the emotional transfer. Because if you have the hump, with the greatest respect, then as the coach and the leader, my leadership style is very much a motivational style where I like to teach, I like to inspire and I like to motivate. Now, you’ve got to be in a good mood for that, in the main. As I said repeatedly, with experience you learn not to kill your joy over things you can’t actually control. As we’re sat here now, we can do absolutely nothing about it.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers hugs his former player, Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans after the Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on 29 January 2025. Photo Manjit Narotra PSI

“So I go out that door and I’ve still got the same group of players, which I’m really happy with. Players that tomorrow night if we win our game in hand we go 13 points clear with 13 games to go. We’ve won a trophy, we’re in a playoff stage of the Champions League. We’ve had a fantastic season until this point. So I don’t want to put any clouds over that there and take a narrative which is negative. There can still be a really, really positive season for us until this point. It’s been outstanding. So I want to continue with that and like I say, we can then go away and see what can we do better, how can we deal better with that window. And then once we do that, we’ve got many games to play and exciting games to play.”

Jota with Brendan Rodgers. Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: You’re keeping in a good mood about the situation, but can you understand how fans might look at the bigger picture and think you’ve got yourself in charge, money the bank?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah 100 per cent. I said it myself, we wanted another striker, so we’re not hiding behind anything. And absolutely, the supporters will look and see what top strikers have gone out, legendary striker, and we haven’t replaced it. So I understand that. But all I can do is affect what we have now and look to teach and work and work very, very hard and finish off what has been, until now, a great season for us.”

Aston Villa v Celtic Champions League 29/01/2025. GOAL scores 2-1 Celtic forward Adam Idah 9 scores and celebrates with Celtic defender Liam Scales 5 during the Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on 29 January 2025. Photo Manjit Narotra

Q: How are you going to handle Adam Idah now? Do you get the metaphorical cotton wool out?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, no, you’ve got to be robust. You can’t want to play every game and then look for a rest. No, no, listen, we’ve got to put in the work, as I said. I was just conscious that we’ve got 16 goals on either side of the field and the idea was to bring someone else in to support Adam, rather than having to sacrifice those 16 goals to bring back inside. Then you’ve got to find another winger that can score 16 goals. But either way, we’ll be strong mentally, physically, going into our remaining games, whatever team is out there. As I said, there’s still a lot for this group to achieve and I’m looking forward to seeing that over the coming months.”

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Daizen Maeda. Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: When you came back and were in Japan, Daizen played three or four games over there through the middle and you were quite excited about the prospect playing there and you thought you could get more out of him as a centre-forward. Do you still think that’s something that could work?

Brendan Rodgers: “100%. I actually can see a lot of more natural, instinctive striker movements that he has in how he plays the game. I think if you track back to when he came in, if you look back on your stats, I think you’ll see his numbers. From when he came in, from Yokohama, he was playing as a striker. He was up 23 goals in something like 33 games or something. The point is that I think probably in modern times, we would go through the tradition of a traditional number 9. But he’s a goal scorer. And he’s done it in Japan and now you see him doing it here.

Daizen Maeda of Celtic is seen during the UEFA Champions League training on January 28, 2025 in Birmingham. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Whether he’s wide or he’s through the middle, if you think of that hat-trick in Yokohama, when I played him up front earlier in the season, when Kyogo didn’t play, he scored two. It was the most pressing and penetrating runs that we had of any striker. Way above Kyogo’s levels, all penetration running. And he scored two and could have had more. So he’s a goal scorer. He scores a header like Henrik Larsson the other day. So I don’t think you can doubt, he might not do some other bits that other strikers will do and be a traditional number 9. But how I ask my number 9s to play and to run and set the game quickly and create space for other players, then I have absolutely no doubt that he can do that. I didn’t want to have to do that, but I know that’s something that we can use him.”

Daizen Maeda celebrates. Motherwell v Celtic, 2nd February 2025. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: He’s been so used to running away from the ball, I think you described it, but do you think he can get on going towards the ball and link-ups?

Brendan Rodgers: “No, I’d like them to play the space rather than the position. And sometimes the space is in front, so you set the game up. And if you don’t set up, you create space for the man. That’s why our wingers get so many goals. For me, I’m not precious around who scores. I don’t need the striker to score 40 goals because the wingers are getting 3 and 4. The team has scored so many goals this year, I don’t know how many it is, but they’ve scored a lot of goals. And I’m not going to sleep worrying about whether the striker scored or not. As long as the team is scoring numbers and winning games. Strikers want to score goals, of course they do, but I’m very comfortable with whoever scores. And I think that he can do that from the side, from a central area, if required.”

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Q: What does Jeffrey Schlupp bring to Celtic?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think firstly his mentality will fit in with the culture here. I’ve never worked with Jeffrey before, but I’ve come across him. Obviously, he came through at Leicester City as a young player and won the league there. The guys I remember speaking to at that time talked about what a good guy he was and what a fantastic player he was. He was multifunctional for them. Incredible pace and power. Obviously, he moved on to Crystal Palace. And you can see, when he played there a lot of the times in my latter stages there at Leicester, he was a central midfield player. He played in there and played very well. So, I think what he comes in as, he offers a great option for us in a couple of positions.

Greg Taylor of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League training on January 28, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Greg’s been brilliant for us this season, but like all the other players, probably when I look back, we didn’t bring in a left-back to cover him last season. I went with Scales as a cover left-back, but I just felt that I didn’t want to take that risk this January. So, we bring him in, his attributes, he’s naturally left-sided. Physicality is really good. He’s Premier League physicality, running power, touching the ball and, of course, like I say, the experience. He’s really excited about being here and I’m looking forward to spending the next four months with him.”

Q: Will he be involved tomorrow?

Brendan Rodgers: “Yes. Well, hopefully. Hopefully, he will be. He’s ready to go. A really good level of fitness and, like I said, he’ll really enjoy playing at this club.”

Q: Do you think, with the additions, you’ve got a more flexible squad? You have players that can play on each side and inside? Do you think it’s more flexible?

Brendan Rodgers: “Well, I think we have players that can do that. It’s like with Jota, he can play on the left or right side, but you’d probably ask him if he’d prefer the left. The view of the game is different. Jeffrey, like you say, is where he can play in that left-back slot where he’s played for Leicester and played for Crystal Palace, but he’s also played inside. So, I think the flexibility is important, especially if you want to have a tight squad. It’s probably a little tighter than what I would like, if I’m honest, but the players can do that. I’m really looking forward to working with him and, like I say, he’s a good guy. He’ll fit into the group here, just slip in, no problem. He’ll know Kasper from before as well and, like I said, he’ll enjoy playing at this club here for the next four months.”

Dundee’s third goal. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Q: What do you expect from Dundee in terms of the game and also how do you reconcile training for a team that took you all the way 3-3 but then conceded six against Hearts? How do you balance that?

Brendan Rodgers: “The training was very easy for that, for 40 minutes, we totally dominated the game. It should have been 2-3 at half-time, conceded a poor goal in counter-attack which typified the rest of the game. Our counter-pressing wasn’t there and then our actual defending. We just weren’t physically good enough in the second half. When we’re not, I always talk about it when we press well and are aggressive and everything else is good in our game. It was a very, very easy game to analyse. Counter-attack goal we gave away just before half-time. A deflected goal, comes in but we’ve got to deal with it. Iin a different area of the pitch then there’s no drama and then the third one from a corner. So we were soft in our defending. Very easy game to analyse. I can absolutely guarantee we won’t be that soft again tomorrow.”