Brendan Rodgers has his sights set firmly on the future, emphasizing the need to fully use Celtic’s youth system, His vision is to intertwine the exuberance of youth with the wisdom of experience, creating a robust pathway for emerging talents to flourish within the first-team setup.
“My life has always been about bringing young players through,” Aaron Rodgers stated in an interview with The Herald, highlighting the importance of youth development in his managing philosophy. At a team the size of Celtic, the task of providing these young players with a clear path forward is challenging, but Rodgers is well up for the challenge. “We have a number of exceptionally talented players. The most important thing is to make a path for them. That is a significant task at a major club, but I have a deep faith in young players.
The blend of youth and experience within a squad is a delicate balance to strike, yet it is one that the Celtic manager approaches with a clear strategy in mind. “You might not have a team full of them, but you certainly need to have those home-grown players coming through. If there is not a pathway they end up looking elsewhere. That is why I talk about minimising my squad so that your football strategy really becomes top, high-potential young players.”
“You need to have experience, those guys need that support around them. So that is what is key for me going forward and observing everything in this first season here. Have a squad that is at a high level and has a high capacity to develop and improve, but also create a pathway for young players.”
The head coach of the Hoops has singled out players like Danny Kelly and Rocco Vata as examples of the club’s young talent. Vata in particular has received recognition for his move to first team training, demonstrating the possible advantages of this kind of pathway. “You see people like Rocco Vata and Danny Kelly. Although Rocco hasn’t had many opportunities, he is at least working with us every day, being a member of the squad, and performing incredibly well. There will undoubtedly be more players who step up. The main focus of my stay here is that.
