Talksport host and Sky Sports broadcast journalist Jim White has suggested that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers could be looking for a new club to take over on Wednesday if his side fail to qualify for the Champions League group stages.
The Hoops are all set for the second leg of their qualifying tie against AEK Athens in Greece on Tuesday, with the first leg at Parkhead having ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning the Bhoys must net having let the Greek champions net an away goal.
However, White believes that this is the year that the club have to start impressing on the European stage, and insists that a failure to make progress on the continent could have Rodgers hunting for somewhere that can match his ambitions.
He said on his talkSPORT show on Tuesday (14 August): “If Celtic go out, what happens then for Brendan Rodgers?
“Celtic have got to enjoy Champions League football deep into the tournament. The time has come. It’s not good enough for a club the size of Celtic to go out of the Champions League this early, in mid-August.
'If Celtic go out, Rodgers may look elsewhere' ?
Jim White believes "ambitious" Brendan Rodgers may consider his future at #CelticFC if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League this season ? pic.twitter.com/2hMQDVVHCO
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) August 14, 2018
“He is a very ambitious man and if Celtic were to go out now I think Brendan would think, ‘I need to win something huge in football to show that I have been a top coach’.
“When he looks back at his career he’s got to win something huge and I think Brendan, with all his ambition, will think that maybe if it doesn’t happen at Celtic it might happen elsewhere.”
Opinion
White’s comments seem to belittle the club’s achievements on the domestic stage, with Rodgers having picked up every possible piece of silverware that he has fought for since his arrival in Scotland. However, fans will no doubt understand what he means, for the demand for further success is prominent in the stands as well. No one has come close to catching Celtic in the league or Scottish cups but European competition is completely different, and quite frankly they have not been up to scratch. They have been absolutely floored on occasion in the Champions League group stages, and even when they play well, they are beaten. Last season saw them fall out of the Europa League – having finished third in their Champions League group – at the knock out stages. The aspiration for this season should be to go further than that, but they are facing a potential early exit if they cannot net in Athens.