Gordon Strachan shares illuminating insight into Brendan Rodgers future at Celtic amid ‘grey area' warning

Daily Record

17-07-2025

The Irishman is entering the final year of his Parkhead contract and Strachan knows better than anyone how he might be feeling
Former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan suspects Brendan Rodgers might be about to embark on his final campaign with the Parkhead club.
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Rodgers has one more year left to run on the three year deal he signed when he returned to Glasgow's east end for a second stint at the helm, after leaving for Leicester City in 2019.
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The 52-year-old admitted recently he has not agreed to extend his deal despite holding recent talks with owner Dermot Desmond.
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And Strachan - who remains a trusted confidant of the club's billionaire Irish owner - believes the former Liverpool manager might be ready to call it quits again in less than 12 months time.
In a remarkably candid interview Strachan insists it would be a mistake for Celtic to try to tempt Rodgers into naming his own terms - and says three years in the job might take the Northern Irishman to his limits.
Speaking with the Online Betting Guide (OLBG) Strachan, whose son Gavin is part of Rodgers' backroom team, said: 'I wouldn't like a lifetime deal. Then no matter what happens you've got this deal. I don't think that's got to happen because both parties in this are not stupid.
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'They know that even Brendan, and if you look at most managers, they spend about three years and then for most Celtic managers, they would like to go on somewhere else.
'It's not the club, the club's fantastic. Sometimes the fact that you're repeating yourself against the same teams week in, week out on plastic pitches. It's not easy to keep momentum going.
'You're going and playing in front of people with a small stadium, plastic pitches. There's no easy repetitiveness with the media.
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'You're literally saying the same thing every week, the media are asking the same questions every week, dealing with the same thing.
'The bonuses managers get at Celtic, you'll get European games, which is a great bonus for any manager.
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"So that's what will entice you, but there's a problem of keeping that momentum going over a three, four, or five years period.
'It's not easy to motivate yourself week in, week out. Sometimes it's nice to have a refresher and go somewhere else. It's difficult for any Celtic manager to last more than three years.
'So I don't think it's wise, I don't think that conversation will take place on a long term contract.'
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In fact, Strachan believes any discussions with Rodgers should begin with asking how much the manager has left in his tank.
And he expressed concerns that any uncertainty over the position may have a negative impact inside Celtic's dressing room as the champions go after a fifth successive league title.
He went on: 'The conversation will be how positive you are, are you still enjoying it, do you have any feelings about what to go at a specific time.
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'Do you think you can last two, three, four years? If not, right, let's think about a short term contract.
"If you have a short term contract, we'll have the same conversation in a year's time.
'The players themselves then get a wee bit worried. Is the manager staying? Is the manager going? There becomes a grey area there.
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'When I was at Southampton it was leaked that I was going to leave in the summer which made it difficult for the players because I think when it got leaked we were about fifth in the Premiership and I could see the players wavering after that because there was a kind of grey area.
'That is one of Celtic's problems if Brendan's only got a year to go, does he sign a new contract or does he not sign one.
'If he doesn't sign one, then it becomes that kind of, is he going, is he staying? Which he could do without when you're a Celtic manager, when you're going for the league.
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'I think there'll be more pressure from Rangers this year. It's hard enough to deal with winning and dealing with the pressure of winning and winning another league without this creeping in all the time. You know, are you staying, are you going?'
And Strachan has backed the appointment of Rangers boss Russell Martin on the other side of the city - despite initial reservations from the Ibrox support following his sacking from Southampton last season.
He said: 'Managers who have been at loads of clubs, do they think this is the best club in the world or is it a money making exercise?
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'That's definitely not Russell's attitude. He might not have the outlandish personality some fans want, someone jumping up and down the line and doing brutal, in your face interviews, that's what the fans want.
'The people who are picking the manager have to be above that. They have to want a manager who has a plan, who knows what he's doing, who can take on the challenge, is enthusiastic and he still has anger to do well.
'I think that's what they're going to get with Russell. He will probably have a bit of anger.
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"The fact that he left Southampton, he's got to kind of reinvent himself again and say to the world that I'm a good coach.
'There's a good coach and there's a good manager. Russell is a good coach. Now the test is if he is a top, top manager because when you join Rangers or Celtic, it's not your coaching that's really tested. It's your mental fortitude, your resilience, your character.
'That's what's tested when you become a Rangers manager. That is what will be new to Russell.
'It was a bit like that for me and I was older than Russell when I took the Celtic job. You think you've got a good idea how you're going to handle it and what it's got to be like then you realise, nope, no, I didn't have a clue it's got to be like this. It's manic.'