Rangers sent window warning as Celtic sure to strengthen
Brendan Rodgers will not allow the champions to rest on their laurels, according to former Celtic full-back Mark Wilson, thus Rangers must bolster their roster during the summer window if they are to challenge for the championship.
Philippe Clement
Even though the Ibrox team still has two games remaining, Celtic leads their nearest rivals by eight points heading into the winter break.
But Wilson believes that there is no way Rangers can overturn that deficit if they don’t add to their squad during January, because not only will Celtic be even stronger after the break due to players returning from injury, but their manager Rodgers is also certain to add quality in key areas of his team.
“I think Rangers will strengthen and they need to if they’re serious about challenging Celtic,” Wilson said.
“When the manager [Rodgers] comes out and says he wants four players [earlier in the season], I think it would look strange if he didn’t get at least a couple in.
Keeping Matt O’Riley is top Celtic transfer window priority
“[Celtic] will probably get stronger. They need to strengthen, in my opinion, not just for this season but also for the following one, if they want to enter the Champions League with a more seasoned team and really give it their best shot. To do this, players must be brought in faster. as opposed to merely offering them a few weeks.
“I think they’ll add a few. I’d like to see them add a striker to lighten the load on Kyogo (Furuhashi). I’m not too sure Oh (Hyeon-gyu) is the answer. He’s had a year here and is still young. But I think they need someone to really push Kyogo.
“And a goalkeeper as well. Joe Hart, I still think has got legs in him, but I don’t think he’s got anyone really pushing him either.
Joe Hart
“So, it’s both ends of the pitch for me.”
Despite his certainty that Celtic will add players from a position of strength this month, Wilson sees the return of Liel Abada and Reo Hatate – once he comes back from the Asian Cup – as being potentially pivotal for Celtic’s chances of success in the second half of the season.
With four impressive wins in a row under their belt to round off the first half of the campaign, he thinks that the mid-December slump that saw Celtic record back-to-back defeats to Kilmarnock and Hearts will soon be a distant memory, and that Rodgers is finally winning over even his harshest critics.
“I think they’re in a lot better place than they were four or five weeks ago,” he said.
“Before that it was a trickier time for Brendan Rodgers. I always felt there was a wee bit of unrest with the fans just waiting for something to go wrong. When it does go wrong, the pressure then comes on your shoulders pretty quickly.
“I thought he handled that nicely, and the four games leading up to Christmas were crucial. not only to obtain performances but also to win them.
“It performed much better against Dundee after starting badly against Livi. Of course, the best game came against the Rangers, when they were playing much closer to their true selves. The victory over St. Mirren capped it perfectly.
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