Rodgers Open To Celtic Stay Despite 'empty' Window Feeling

Brendan Rodgers has said he would "100%" beryllium unfastened to extending his Celtic statement contempt being near emotion "empty" pursuing an underwhelming summertime transportation window.

The Parkehad head has made nary concealed of his vexation astatine nan club's nonaccomplishment to amended nan squad earlier they collapsed retired of nan Champions League play-offs to Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty.

Celtic fans are readying protests against nan committee arsenic a consequence of their summertime of woe, and it had been reported that nan business could punctual Rodgers to time off his statement earlier it expires adjacent summer.

However, speaking connected Friday for nan first clip since nan model closed, he said he was "hopeful" of extending his woody - if nan conditions were right.

Asked if he felt fto down by nan club's inability to backmost him, Rodgers said: "It's not astir me.

"I want Celtic to beryllium nan very champion that it tin be. My ambition is for nan club, for our supporters, for nan players.

"It's not a individual point for me. I tin only do my very champion to amended what it is we request to improve. Whatever business I'm in, I will past look to beryllium nan very champion that I tin be.

"The first clip I was here, I astir apt near because of that [frustration astatine deficiency of backing]. But I won't beryllium doing that this time. Absolutely nary chance - 100%.

"My work is to beryllium present and thief nan team, nan squad, nan nine get backmost again and moving on."

Asked if a model that Rodgers admitted "could person been amended for us" had made him ponder quitting, he added: "It didn't. It didn't make maine deliberation to locomotion away. I conscionable felt empty, if I'm honest.

"It was a agelong process and nan weight is connected your shoulders erstwhile you're here, carrying everything. When it doesn't rather spell nan measurement you want, past of people you person an quiet feeling.

"But past you cognize arsenic 1 of nan leaders of nan nine and peculiarly nan head of nan team, you've sewage to get your caput astir it and you've sewage to woody pinch it and past you've sewage to effort and maximise what you have."

When pressed connected whether this summertime had influenced his reasoning pinch respect to remaining astatine nan nine beyond this season, Rodgers said: "No, it hasn't really changed from nan past time.

"I would emotion to enactment present longer. I've had informal chats pinch Dermot [Desmond, nan mostly shareholder] and Michael [Nicholson, main executive].

"I haven't had an connection yet to deliberation complete and until that comes past I'm not going to beryllium truthful arrogant to say, 'yeah, I want to beryllium present for different 3 years'. The nine mightiness not want maine here."

He added: "If not, past it's possibly conscionable there's 2 philosophies that don't rather adhd up and I besides judge that.

"I'll spell away, I'll beryllium a Celtic protagonist for nan remainder of my life and we'll spell our abstracted ways. But my dream was to travel backmost here, to return nan nine forward."