Celtic have started their 2017/18 season in the same manner as they ended the last one; undefeated and unstoppable. A second season in charge can often be tricky for a manager, especially if they’ve achieved great success in their debut one. Brendan Rodgers has set the bar extraordinarily high and that may be tricky to follow up on.
Domestically of course the Hoops have everything covered, with almost two teams worth of depth capable of dominating most teams in the division, they should have no worries about retaining their title and will be eyeing back-to-back trebles.
As supporters know though, their potential lies beyond that under Rodgers. He’s brought an ambition to the club that they haven’t seen since the days of Martin O’Neill and fans are expectant with regards to Europe and what they can achieve there.
If they are to make progress in Europe, there’s still work to be done and changes to be made in the squad and how they approach fixtures.
These are the FOUR things the Hoops need to do if they are to reach their full potential this season…
Sign Roberts, or replace his assists
The Patrick Roberts saga is one that has rumbled on for months now, since before he left the club to return to parent side Manchester City. The latest developments came this week when the BBC reported that the winger was to tell his club that he wants a return to the Glasgow for the coming season in a move that would most likely be on loan once again.
Whether they sign him or not, what’s obvious is that Celtic need to replace what he offered last term. He created 16 assists and scored nine goals of his own in 47 appearances, many of which were from the bench.
That assist count is higher than anyone else in the Hoops squad managed last term, so it’s important that if they miss out on him, they replace that creativity with a quality signing in the right wing position.
They’ve already brought in Jonny Hayes, but he is regarded more of a replacement for the outgoing Gary Mackay-Steven, rather than a true contender to fill the shoes of the young English winger.
Sign a quality partner for Jozo Simunovic
Another area of the pitch Celtic need quality in is at centre-back. Now, there are arguments against making another signing in this area. The chief one being that they already have plenty of cover in the area through the likes of youngster Kristoffer Ajer and full-backs Kieran Tierney and Mikael Lustig, who can both step in if need be.
However, our argument is that Celtic should be looking to sign a genuine first-teamer who can come in and improve the back line, rather than simply give depth to it.
Dedryck Boyata has admittedly emerged as a more consistent performer under Brendan Rodgers but is untested in Europe and Erik Sviatchenko has arguably regressed from what was a pretty fantastic opening eight or so months to his Celtic career.
Jozo Simunovic is the solid rock and the Hoops should be looking to sign a quality partner that can make the centre of defence genuinely UEFA Champions League quality against the best of the best.
Put the focus on Europe
Celtic’s fixture list is as heavy as any team in football when they are successful. Last season saw them play a massive 59 matches in all competitions across Europe and domestic action. With a more focused and refined squad than ever, it’s a big ask for the team to perform to their best in every single match.
They managed that for the most part last season but struggled in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, finishing bottom of the group and failing to win a match at home at that stage of the competition for the very first time.
With the massive domestic success of last season behind them, they now have room to put the focus on that European competition and consider playing weaker or rotated sides in the weekends between European match days.
An unbeaten treble is something that potential happens once in a lifetime and chasing that success again will be difficult. Putting more of a focus on Europe throughout the Autumn and Winter could go a long way to achieving European football after Christmas, which is what Celtic fans want most of all this season.
Keep all of last season’s top performers
Stuart Armstrong, Kieran Tierney, Moussa Dembele; all players who were absolutely massive last season and all players that are coveted by football fans across Britain and Europe right now.
While Celtic have dipped into the transfer market themselves this summer, with the signings of Jonny Hayes, Kundai Benyu and Olivier Ntcham, the most important business in the summer might be resisting attempts from clubs to sign their top talent.
Some situations are trickier than others to deal with. Tierney for example seems perfectly settled at the club on a long contract while Armstrong’s performances have dipped with his contract situation still not sorted out, with less than 12 months remaining.
Retaining all that key talent will go a long way to replicating success and improving even more this season. If they were that good together in a side that had to get used to playing together, just think what they could do this time around.