Former Celtic defender and now pundit Alan Stubbs has claimed that there will be a vast array of changes at the club this summer.
Stubbs, who played for the Hoops between 1996 and 2001, thinks that manager Brendan Rodgers has been given some false promises by the club’s hierarchy. He believes that the gaffer is having to deal with what he has and that some of the players in the squad are not necessarily who he wants.
A claim was also made by the former Hibs and St. Mirren gaffer about Rodgers’ body language: “I think we all understand and realise that Brendan was given assurances when he came that this was going to happen”, he said (RecordSport).
“That hasn’t happened. I think looking at Brendan’s body language you can see that he can’t come out and say it but he has to do what he can with this group of players until the end of the season.
“I think once he gets to the end of the season you will see a lot of changes at Celtic, irrespective of what happens and I believe Brendan will give recommendations to the board that there are a lot of players in that squad whom he will want to be moved on.”
Regardless of who comes out on top in the title race, it is set to be an intriguing summer at Celtic. Some key positions in the squad will need to be addressed and following the departures of Mark Lawell and Joe Dudgeon, how recruitment will be carried out remains to be seen.
Fans, and likely the manager, too, want to see players of a certain calibre brought in rather than numerous youngsters who may only possess the quality required to regularly contribute to the first-team years down the line.
Stephen McGowan’s claim about the constraints under which Lawell and Co. had to work regarding the signing of new players was concerning. Those need to change if the club are to step up their recruitment this summer because previously, the limitations have in no way been beneficial.
