Rodgers has guaranteed he’ll be hear for at least the final year of his contract but Hartley wants Celtic to tie him down longer term
Paul Hartley reckons a new deal for box-office Brendan Rodgers would be Celtic’s signing of the summer and a huge boost for Scottish football.
The Parkhead boss is crystal clear he’ll be in place next term for a third year since returning to Glasgow’s East End for his second spell.
But Rodgers is also planning talks with Dermot Desmond about his future beyond next term as well as looking to make adjustments to his squad.
Ex-Celt Hartley believes it would be huge for Celtic to get the boss tied-down on a fresh contract and a big shot in the arm for the game in this country at the same time.
Hartley said: “I think so. He’s box office, that’s what we need here. We need to always try and talk our game up and then we’ve got to have the best managers possible for that.
“So, I think it would be really important that, if they could keep him, then it’s good for everybody, Celtic and Scottish football.
“He’s got a good team there, he knows how to win. Going for another Treble again, so I think it’s really important that they try and tie him down.
“There’s a lot of eyebrows raised, obviously, about how he left the first time. But since he’s come back, he’s shown that quality that he is as a manager.
“He did say that he’d be here for the three years, but if they could try and keep him longer than that, I think it’d be a great bit of business for the club and for Scottish football also.”
Rodgers ran riot through his first spell at Celtic winning every domestic trophy before departing for Leicester City and Hartley continued: “There was a lot of fans when he came back that didn’t want him back, but he’s shown how good a manager he is and how well-respected he is. He’s always been a top-class manager.
“In his first period here, he was outstanding and then, obviously, he left for whatever reason. Going to the Premier League and that can happen with players. If they’ve got an opportunity, then they’ve got to try and take that. But coming back, he’s shown how good he is.”
Rodgers came back to Glasgow with the intention of adding more trophies and also boosting the club’s Champions League performances.
He has done both during the past two seasons and Hartley said: “Listen, when you’re the manager of Celtic, you’ve got to win. You’ve got to win trophies and that’s what he’s done. Obviously, looking to go for another treble this season.”
Hartley, the boss of Cove Rangers, is also backing Rodgers’ plans to reshape his squad in the summer as he added: “Yeah, I think so. Obviously, they need to rebuild the squad a wee bit again. He spoke about that last week after the St Johnstone game, he wasn’t too pleased with the performance and rightly so.
“You’ve always got to try and improve and get better, especially domestically and in the European stage.
“But, if they could keep Brendan, then obviously Brendan can attract the top players, that’s for sure.”
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport’s newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
