Brendan Rodgers was recently appointed as the Celtic manager.
Chris Sutton has written in The Daily Record that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is not under pressure to guide the side to the group stage of the Champions League next season.
Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership title for the fifth season in a row, but for the past two years they have failed to progress to the group stage of Europe’s premier club competition.
Former Liverpool and Swansea City manager Rodgers has experience of Champions League football, and many fans will expect him to bring top European football back to Celtic Park next season.
Former Celtic striker Sutton believes that Rodgers is not under pressure to qualify for the Champions League.
The Englishman has also claimed that if the Bhoys fail yet again in qualifying for the group stage of Europe’s premier club competition, then it would not be the fault of the former Liverpool boss.
“Unlike most others, I don’t feel he’s under pressure in the Champions League qualifiers,” Sutton wrote in The Daily Record.
“Many feel everything hinges on those six games for the Ulsterman, but it’s a short time to get the squad you want in place and it won’t be easy. For me, he can’t be blamed if they don’t get through with the current squad.”
While Sutton does make a valid point, one suspects that not many Celtic fans will be happy if Rodgers fails to guide the team to the Champions League group stage.
The Bhoys will once again be favourites to win the Scottish Premiership next season, but it is top European football that many supporters are craving at the moment.
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