Brendan Rodgers discusses Celtic system, futures of three players and why Marco Tilio won't play for a spell

The arrival of a new manager understandably poses fresh questions about the future of certain players. At Celtic, under Ange Postecoglou, it was fairly straightforward in picking out the likely lads in the starting XI. But with the Australian now at Tottenham Hotspur and replaced by Brendan Rodgers, the whole squad has a clean slate.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will be assessing his squad over the coming weeks.

Postecoglou had a preference for stockpiling players. The style of football he deployed asked a lot of the team left a physical toll, which is why there were always strong options on the bench, but even then, there were solid options left out of matchdays entirely. So far, out of the first team, only Jota has departed, while Marco Tilio and Edin Thiago Holm have been added. Count the senior players in the squad currently and it sits at 31.

Some of those are likely to depart. Defender Osaze Urghohide, midfielders Liam Shaw and Ismaila Soro and forward Albian Ajeti were farmed out on loan last season and don’t look likely to trouble those in front of them. However, the futures of others, such as James McCarthy, Liam Scales and Mikey Johnston are less clear.

Rodgers knows his captain Callum McGregor very well from his first spell at Celtic Park between 2016 and 2019 but the only other players he has worked with previously are forwards James Forrest and Johnston, goalkeeper Scott Bain and defenders Stephen Welsh and Anthony Ralston. “At this moment in time, I am assessing the squad to see where they all fit and where it's at,” said Rodgers. “I have only seen a lot of them from a distance before coming in so this is a chance to see up close.”

Mikey Johnston has a back injury, but has still travelled with the Celtic squad to Portugal.

Rodgers gave Johnston his senior debut and now an Irish international following last season’s loan spell at Vitoria Guimaraes, hopes were high he could augment Celtic’s attacking options given Jota’s exit until another setback. “I'm not sure if it was directly picked up on international duty but he felt some issues when he came back for pre-season,” revealed Rodgers. “Sadly for him, three months was the timescale. It's just about availability. He has fantastic attributes, he's quick and direct. He can score goals, he can create and has a lot of tools that I like for guys who play in wide areas. But you have to be available and that is going to be important for him. Hopefully this season, when he gets over this back injury, he can have a sustained run of fitness to perform.”

Another player whose time at Celtic has been handicapped by injuries is McCarthy. The central midfielder has English Premier League experience but having made just 12 appearances in two seasons – the last of which was in October 2022 – there are understandably doubts he will feature for Celtic. "I have known James since he was a young player and he spent a lot of his career in the Premier League,” said Rodgers. “I know his qualities and sadly for him, since coming back to Celtic, that has been hindered by injuries he's had. But I saw a lot of James down south and I know his qualities.”

Scales, on loan at Aberdeen last season, is also back with Celtic. “I am just assessing at the moment,” continued Rodgers. “From afar I could see he is a very good footballer and he's at the stage where he will want to play. I just need to assess his qualities and see where he will fit into the squad.”

Given Thursday’s press conference was hosted on the back of the Wolves friendly announcement in Dublin at the end of the month, a healthy contingent of Irish journalists were keen to find out what is in store for their footballers within the Celtic squad. Fans may be more excited by the two summer signings, Tilio and Holm, although they will have to wait to see the former.

New signing Marco Tilio may not play for a number of months due to an injury picked up while on international duty.

"Marco will be out for a few weeks,” revealed Rodgers. “He had an issue when we signed him and we knew of it, He will miss the start of the season as he got injured playing for Australia. We knew he would miss the first couple of months of the season but he's an exciting winger who has done well. He fits the profile and when he settles in, he will do very well.

Holm may have a better chance of forcing his way in. “Odin has experience for a young player, he is technically very good and will get stronger. We see big potential in him. He is quick and hopefully he can score goals. Both of them will come in and adapt in their first year but if they are required to play, we know they are ready.”

Losing Jota will clearly hurt Celtic – “he’s been given a life-changing offer and for a young guy at 24, when you see the numbers it's a very difficult one for him to turn down,” said Rodgers – and no doubt would have flourished under Rodgers, who does not plan to change his tactical approach from his previous spell. “If you follow my career, my teams haven't been too different,” he said. "When we don't have the ball, we want to be aggressive in our pressing and limit space. Then when we have the ball, we want to be expansive and creative. And also organised. I like the team to play different systems. We defended 4-2-3-1 at Celtic the last time and then we attacked 3-4-3. But the three basic rules are be intense and aggressive, be creative and also have one more player in midfield than our opponents. That's my three basic rules and has served me well in my career but my teams are flexible and can play different systems when required.”

With the system in place, now it’s a question of which personnel can impress Rodgers sufficiently to be part of it.