Running scared: Brendan Rodgers makes bold Celtic claim
By Danny Wright
Brendan Rodgers has claimed that Celtic could compete with the top four clubs in the Premier League, and that the majority of clubs in England would fear them.
Talking to Sky Sports, the former Liverpool and Swansea boss, said that playing in England would build Celtic into a bigger and better team than most Premier League clubs.
Having joined the club in May 2016 following the departure of Ronny Deila, the 44-year-old has turned the Glasgow club into a winning-machine that has only dropped points in one Scottish Premiership game all season – a draw against Inverness in September.
After routinely winning on a weekly basis, Rodgers has turned his attention towards the debate about Scottish clubs joining the English leagues.
“Celtic is a major, major threat to nearly every English club,” Rodgers said. “If Celtic were in England, Celtic are one of the top four stroke top six clubs there.
“Can you imagine then the resources playing at that level, what that would produce for Celtic?
“If you’re another club working in that league, or in the Championship or in League One, would you want the type of threat? I don’t think you want to and that’s the reality,” Rodgers added.
It’s a bold claim from Rodgers, with the top six in the Premier League probably the most competitive ever, with Liverpool, Tottenham, Man United, Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea all forming a tier above the rest of the league.
However, in two Champions League matches this season, they managed two draws against Man City.
Rodgers began his coaching career as a youth coach at Chelsea in 2004. He secured his first managerial job in 2008 when he took over at Watford and managed to steer them away from relegation to League One in his first season.
After a spell at Reading, Rodgers made a name for himself at Swansea which caught the attention of Liverpool.
The Reds signed the Northern Irishman on the back of an endorsement by former Chelsea colleague Jose Mourinho in June 2012. He was sacked three years later despite becoming the first Liverpool boss to win the LMA Manager of the Year award in 2014.
In other Celtic news, defender delivers verdict on the state of Scottish football.
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