Brendan Rodgers makes Celtic signings vow and reacts to Green Brigade fury after St Johnstone draw

Brendan Rodgers has admitted he needs new Celtic signings to bring back the style of football his team was renowned for during his first spell in charge after facing an angry fan reaction following the goalless draw with St Johnstone.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at full-time after the goalless draw with St Johnstone. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Rodgers secured back-to-back trebles with Celtic and was on course for a third when he departed for Leicester City in 2019 but has endured a stuttering start to his second reign with a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock in the Viaplay Cup followed by dropping two Premiership points at home to a side who had lost their opening two league fixtures.

According to reports, Celtic will complete a deal for Honduras international winger Luis Palma this week after the club reached an agreement with Greek side Aris over a £3.5m fee. And Rodgers admitted new arrivals are needed before the window shuts on Friday and ahead of next weekend’s first Old Firm showdown of the season against Rangers at Ibrox to bring a spark to a side that has now gone 180 minutes without scoring.

"It was a disappointing result, clearly, but also the performance," he said. "We got into some good areas but we lacked craft and that extra wee bit of imagination.

"I think it's clear we've improved the squad with some of the players we've brought in but we've lost starters so we need to improve the team. If you go back to my first time here the team was fast, dynamic and cut through the lines very quickly, created goals and scored goals. I think this is what we'll eventually get to here but we're missing those certain profiles. Hopefully we can bring that into the squad and be a lot cleaner and quicker in our play."

Quizzed on how many new signings will be made before the deadline, Rodgers added: "There's no numbers. I've spoken to the club when I first came in and assessed the squad. We just need to improve the quality in there."

Rodgers and his players were booed by the Green Brigade section of the Celtic support as they made their way around the pitch at full-time – a reaction which the Northern Irishman accepted.

"It's always a challenge coming in off the back of a season when you've won the treble," he said. "You've got to go again the following season where there's a greater expectation on you and more pressure.

"The fans will expect and rightly so. They were disappointed after the game and I'm fully aware if you draw at home to St Johnstone then you deserve that bit of stick. We need to improve and be better for sure."