Tag: Rangers

CELTIC CLEAR FOR UCL PLAYOFF

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Scottish Premiership champs Celtic are clear to feature in the UEFA Champions League playoff after seeing off Rosenborg in the third round of the qualifiers.


James Forrest’s 69th minute strike was enough to hand Brendan Rodgers men the advantage.

The first half of the second leg at Rosenborg was rather slow but the visitors created more chances. After the break, Rosenborg pressurized their guests. Celtic managed the pressure, getting the goal from the right in the 69th minute. Their rivals made last minute push but they could not get the equalizer.

Celtic would square up against Astana, Rijeka, Qarabag and either of Hapoel Beer Sheva or Slavia Prague in the next round. The Scottish side is expected to qualify from the playoff. They defeated the Israeli side Hapoel and Kazakh club Astana last year. Rijeka and Qarabag should be defeated as well. Continue reading →

Kouassi happy to be at Celtic

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New Celtic signing EboueKouassi said that he is glad to have signed for Celtic and believes he has made the right decision.


He stated that Celtic is the best club for a young player to developed and that he is determined to succeed in Scotland.

The player joined Celtic from Russian side Krasnodar for a fee of around 3 million pounds.

EboueKouassi said that he is highly focus on his career and he wants to take the chance to progress. He believes that playing in Scotland and at a big club such as Celtic will give him the opportunity to become better.

He said that he is not worried by the competition at Celtic as he is more focused on his development at the moment. Indeed there is no shortage of midfielders in the current Celtic squad, and EboueKouassi may have a hard time in getting playing time initially. Continue reading →

SIMUNOVIC STILL COMMITTED TO CELTIC

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Jozo Simunovic insists he is fully concentrated on his future with Celtic after his deadline-day transfer to Italian side Torino fell through.


Prevalent reports claimed that the Croatia international that has been plagued by injury since he arrived at Celtic last summer failed a medical with the Italian Serie A club.

The 22-year-old has however taken to social media to shed light on the rumour and put the record straight, claiming lack of agreement between the two clubs over transfer terms scuttled the move.

Celtic was keen to have Simunovic offloaded to Italy on a permanent contract, but it is believed Torino was looking for an initial loan switch with the option of signing him on a permanent basis if he impresses.

Posting on his Twitter account, the former Dinamo Zagreb central defender said:

“A lot has been said in the last few days. I prefer to talk on the field but this time I want to say something to the Celtic fans that have always supported me, and as a player that means a lot to me. Continue reading →

RODGERS SAYS NO EMBARRASSMENT IN DEFEAT

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Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says there is “no embarrassment” in their loss in the first leg of their game with Gibraltar part timers Lincoln Red Imps.

The game which is the first competitive one for the former Reds boss ended in a 1-0 shock defeat but the manager is staying clam even as fans rumble. The goal came from police officer Lee Casciaro in the Tuesday encounter. The goal made the record for the worst defeat for Celtic and throws they under pressure for the return leg when they meet at Celtic Park.

The Imps surprisingly had a fireman, a customs officer and a taxi driver so the fans were angry that such combinations could still defeat a professional side that lifted the Scottish League in the last campaign. Rodgers said he wasn’t shocked as these things happen in football at the time. He asked that the players, fans and supporters of the club remain calm but that they would need to put up a performance at the return leg if they are to play in the Champions League.

Celtic is set to welcome their opponents, the champions of Gibraltar when they visit Glasgow next week Wednesday for the second leg of the second qualifying round. Continue reading →

CELTIC APPOINTS AN ASSISTANT FOR RODGERS

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Celtic Football Club have appointed an assistant for also newly appointed boss in Brendan Rodgers.


The appointed assistant manager to Rodgers is Chris Davies. Davies has worked alongside Rodgers at Swansea and Liverpool and will start his new role at Parkhead on June 1 after leaving his current position as first-team coach at Reading.

The 31-year-old only joined the Royals coaching staff in January but the lure of the Scottish champions and linking up with Rodgers again has proved too strong for him.

Rodgers told the club’s official website:

 “I am delighted to bring Chris to Celtic, he is a magnificent coach and someone I know will make a hugely positive contribution to the club.

“He is ready and prepared for the challenge at Celtic and I know that Chris, like myself, can’t wait to get going next season.

“He has worked with me previously, he is someone I know and trust and he will be a great addition to my team and to the club.”  Continue reading →

Celtic fans unhappy with Carlton Cole

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Carlton Cole faced some harsh critics by his own fans following his performance in a Mark Noble’s testimonial. Although the game was meant to be a friendly one, fans did not really appreciate the way Carlton Cole played in the match.

This reaction can be explained by the fact that Cole has yet to show any sort of brilliance for the Celtic team and that fans have become quite fed up with his performance. This can signify the end of the relationship between Carlton Cole and Celtic and he might even be tempted to move away during the summer.

His last game for Celtic came on 19th January when the Scottish side beat Hamilton 8-1. Celtic fans took to Twitter where they criticized Cole for his poor form as well as his lack of ability on the pitch.

Cole joined Celtic in 2015 and has so far made five appearances for the Scottish club. He stated that he joined Celtic in order to have more playing time and also because he wanted to win trophies. He belies that Celtic are in an excellent position to be successful and that he wanted to contribute to this success. He was previously at West Ham where he managed more than 290 appearances for the London team. He scored 68 goals in the process where he was quite a favorite player.

With the kind of criticism that the English player has received on Twitter, the chances are that he will not stay for long at Celtic. Continue reading →

Ronny Deila has started to establish himself as a top manager in the Scottish league

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After some doubts early on in the campaign, manager Ronny Deila has started to establish himself as a top manager in the Scottish league. The Celtic boss has now overseen an incredible run of form to establish a five point advantage in the league table.

Further, the club has also lifted its first silverware of the season by beating Dundee United in the League Cup final. Celtic then went on to beat the same opponents once again in the Scottish cup to reach the semifinals. They are now in a position to win at least three major trophies this campaign.

One of the major reasons for this being a reality is that Celtic have an incredible squad strength.Deila praised the strength in depth in his squad, which has allowed him to make changes constantly throughout the season. Without the help of a good squad,Deila would not have been able to maintain results in three different competitions. Celtic’s major disappointment this season, though, would be in the Europa League after the team failed to beat Inter Milan in the first knockout stages. On a positive note, exit from the European competition now provides them with the opportunity to end the season with three major titles. Continue reading →