Brendan Rodgers: Celtic ‘would be in the top 4, top 6’ in England

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Brendan Rodgers certainly isn’t helping the popular notion that he can be a delusional character at times.

In the wake of Celtic’s impressive 3-3 Champions League home draw against Premier League leader Manchester City, he predicted his ranks would be among the strongest teams in English football if they were to join from the Scottish Premiership.

Rodgers is well-versed in football south of the border too, through his stints in charge of Watford, Reading, Swansea City and Liverpool.

“There’s no doubt Celtic are a major threat to nearly every English club,” asserted Rodgers, according to Chris McLaughlin from BBC Sport. Celtic boasts the likes of Scott Sinclair, Dedryck Boyata, and Kris Commons – all of whom struggled to make a telling impact in English football.

He added: “If Celtic were in England, they would be in the top four, top six clubs there.”

Although Rodgers is often a figure of fun due to his unbridled self-confidence and meme-destined declarations (such as Joe Allen being the “Welsh Xavi”), a certain amount of credit is due to the manager for the adventurous attacking football showcased by the home side on Wednesday at Celtic Park.

Twenty-year-old Moussa Dembele was a menace throughout, and some of Pep Guardiola’s defenders looked shell-shocked for the first time this season.

The potential inclusion of Celtic and its great Old Firm rival Rangers to English football has been put up for debate recently as part of the proposed revamps to the English Football League. The suggestion was roundly shunned by the 72 professional representatives below the Premier League, however.

Related: Football League revamp won’t include ‘B’ teams, ‘non-English’ sides

“If you are another club playing in that league or Championship, or League One, would you want that type of threat coming in?” Rodgers continued. “I don’t think you’d want it and that’s the reality.

“It is going to be difficult for Celtic to be in the English pyramid system because of the sheer scale of the club. Most of our games are packed out now.

“If it did happen, though, Rodgers states Celtic “can go as far as it wants then.”

Before it one day potentially deploys its exciting collective of pacey, attacking youngsters in England, Celtic readies for a trip to Dundee in Saturday’s spate of league fixtures.