Brendan Rodgers confesses Celtic transfer need for older heads as boss insists good teams 'aren't born'

Brendan Rodgers admits Celtic need a fresh injection of quality and experience after seeing his proud unbeaten cup record crash at Kilmarnock.

The Northern Irishman led the Hoops to victory in all 24 domestic knock-out ties he oversaw during his first spell in charge. But it took just 90 minutes at Rugby Park for that impressive record to collapse as Rodgers admitted his second stint is going to be a tougher challenge to overcome.

The Viaplay Cup holders last failed to make the quarter-finals back in 2013 when Neil Lennon’s side were dumped out by Morton. Rodgers’ young side suffered the same fate as Marley Watkins’ goal sent the Killie faithful into raptures just two weeks on from their stunning Premiership start against Rangers. The Celtic boss started summer signings Gustaf Lagerbielke, Mark Nawrocki and Odin Holm before also throwing on new recruit Hyunjun Yang as his side chased an equaliser.

All four are under 23 and Rodgers admits he may have to seek out some older heads if his team are to avoid another slip-up. He said: “We want good players, whatever age they are.

“We need quality, that’s for sure. Hopefully between now and the end of the window we can improve the squad.

“Clearly the model of the club is to bring the players in at a younger age and develop them and improve them. But we are not against bringing in someone at 26 or 27 if they can improve the squad.”

Celtic started brightly but as Killie upped their intensity levels on and off the ball, the visitors soon ran out of ideas. Aside from a couple of Kyogo Furuhashi efforts inside the first half an hour, there wasn’t much for Killie keeper Will Dennis to do as Celtic lost their grip on a trophy they’ve lifted six times in the last seven years.

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