‘There has to be ambition from everyone' – Brendan Rodgers sends contract message to Celtic board
has delivered a clear message to the
Celtic
board – show ambition to drive the club forward or he will not extend his contract.
Rodgers is entering the final season of his three-year deal and told principal shareholder
Dermot Desmond
and chief executive Michael Nicholson that he is not interested in performing a maintenance job.
The Celtic manager reiterated he would be going nowhere of his own volition before his contract expires but his long-term future remains unclear.
Asked about his contract situation ahead of Celtic's Premiership opener against St Mirren on Sunday, Rodgers said: 'Dermot and Michael and I had a conversation over the summer on where we were at.
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'I said: 'I'm very happy here'. There's conditions we want to be able to improve and be better because I'm not the type of manager that's good at maintaining anything. If it's just something to maintain, I'm not the manager of Celtic. It'll be someone else.
'But to build and grow and develop and push, then of course I love being at Celtic. I'm not the one that's going to sit here and just maintain levels. My commitment here to Celtic is this is a really fast-moving club and you have to keep moving, move quickly.
'It's one of the biggest clubs in world football. It has a demand and an expectation on it and the only way you get better within that is by improving and developing.'
Rodgers stressed he was not saying the club had to match his own ambition.
'I don't want to be really arrogant to say that,' he said. 'Celtic clearly has an expectation and should have an expectation because of the size of the club we are, and what the demands are here.
'What I'm saying, for clarity, I love being here. And, yes, there's been some challenges on and off the pitch since I've arrived, but that's management, that's coaching. But in the main, I've absolutely loved it here and I will continue to do so however long that is. But like I said, there has to be that ambition from everyone.
'In terms of my situation, I'm relaxed on it only because I know what I give every single day. And if the club choose to offer (a contract) and see that as the way forward, great. If not, it doesn't really matter to me in relation to what I give to the job.
'My ambition is for Celtic. It's not for me. My ambition is for Celtic to be the best that it can be.
'I've been in the game quite a long time now. So I think I understand what we need to succeed. We did that last year. We brought in certain players that helped our profile when we moved into the Champions League. And those players really helped us in the Champions League.
'So my ambition now is to keep us going in that direction. And that's what our conversations are about.'
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Rodgers has stressed the need to bolster their attacking options in recent weeks. Shin Yamada arrived as a belated replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi but the sale of Nicolas Kuhn to Como has compounded a lack of wide players following the long-term knee injury Jota suffered in May.
Rodgers said: 'There's no doubt I would have liked to have had players in now, but it's not the case. I'm not going to kill my own joy and overthink. I focus on what's here. We know the work that we need to do and it's my responsibility to convince the club that we really need them.
'Clearly, I'm not doing that job as well as maybe what I can, but I will continue to pursue that because it's something that's really important for us.'
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Irish Times
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- Irish Times
Inheritance, relatives and blended families: what does it mean for tax-free thresholds?
Could you clarify a passing comment that you made in your article last week. You used the phrase 'by blood'. Are you drawing a distinction with uncle or aunt by marriage versus an uncle or aunt 'by blood'? In other words, are you saying that a child can inherit under Class B from their parent's sibling, but not the spouse of that sibling? Are you sure that is correct as I do not see any such distinction in Revenue guidance ? It also raises the question of who is 'the parent' in the case of a divorce and remarriage. Does the birth parent for Class A purposes cease to be a parent on remarriage or can the step-parent become one? Mr DL READ MORE I always wonder when I write 'by blood' whether it is clearly understood. As with many recurring items, I have set out clearly what that means at one point or another but often revert to the shorthand. And yes, it can be counterintuitive if, like me, you grew up in a family where aunts were regarded as aunts regardless of whether they were my parents' siblings or had married into the family – and similarly for uncles. But Revenue does make a distinction when it comes to inheritance. The three inheritance tax thresholds are very specifically delineated according to blood relationship between the person making the gift or leaving the inheritance in their will and the person receiving it. Category A, which offers the highest tax-free threshold – currently €400,000 – is generally referred to as covering gifts and inheritances from a parent to a child, but it is slightly wider than that. [ Inheritance tax: How to avoid leaving your loved ones with a hefty bill Opens in new window ] For instance, if it is the child that dies – as an adult or otherwise – and the parent who inherits from them, the parent will also benefit from the Category A threshold as long as they are inheriting outright – rather than, say, getting a life interest in a property. The threshold will also apply to a child – anyone under the age of 18 – where they are inheriting from their grandparent when their parent is dead. We'll come back to that Category A in a minute in relation to the second part of your query. Category B covers close blood relatives other than parents – or other scenarios covered by Category A. It is sometimes described as lineal relations – i.e. those in a direct line of descent or ancestry. Most commonly, that is seen as covering gifts and inheritance from a brother or sister, a grandparent and an uncle or aunt. And yes, it is only aunts or uncles related by blood – i.e. siblings of one or other parent. You're certainly right to query it. I used to think it covered everyone with that title but I did check with the Revenue commissioners and they did confirm that there had to be a blood relationship with the aunt or uncle for them to be covered under Category B. Category B will also cover life interest inheritance from a child to a parent or any inheritance from a child to an aunt, uncle or grandparent in the unfortunate circumstance of the child predeceasing the older relative. [ Will inheritance tax be cut again in the budget? Opens in new window ] Many people worry about what other people will pay in tax on an unexpected windfall (inheritance) after they are gone. Photograph: Getty Images There is a growing clamour – particularly from people who do not have children – for reform of this Category B. As it stands, the tax-free threshold under Category B is €40,000, just 10 per cent of the Category A threshold. An awful lot of people worry about what other people will pay in tax on an unexpected windfall (inheritance) after they are gone. Personally, I always find that odd but that's not to say it is not a thing. There is pressure either to raise this significantly or to find some other device to allow people without children nominate one or two beneficiaries who can avail of a higher threshold. It is something that has been examined in the Tax Strategy Papers published recently by the Department of Finance . These papers examine issues that might be addressed in the budget later this year or a budget further down the line. As is their wont, this review merely sets out options and, to the degree possible, their likely cost or benefit to the exchequer. Whether one approach should be favoured over another or whether any policy change should be pursued remains a political matter for decision by the Government . Finally, we have Category C which covers all other people benefiting from a gift or inheritance – sometimes called 'strangers in blood' where the current tax-free threshold is €20,000. [ I am due to inherit €30,000, is it worth my while to gift my husband half to avoid tax? Opens in new window ] The three inheritance tax thresholds are delineated according to blood relationship between the person leaving the inheritance in their will and the person receiving it. Photograph: Getty Images And you can see here why Revenue specifies that aunts and uncles in Category B must be blood relations, not relations by marriage. 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