Celtic board must meet Rodgers' challenge - Petrov

Celtic gave Bayern Munich a scare in the Champions League play-off round after finishing 20th out of 36 in the first phase

Stiliyan Petrov is urging Celtic to back Brendan Rodgers and invest more to make an impact in Europe.

Rodgers spoke on Friday of adding "freshness" to his squad over the summer in order to take the club forward.

"It was really clever from a strong manager asking for players," said Petrov, who played for Celtic between 1999 and 2006.

"I think with the new format of European football, Brendan feels that if he had more quality, more good players, then he can do even more in European football.

"We all remember that when Brendan came to the club, he was talking about the European adventures, that he wanted to achieve a lot more with Celtic in Europe, so that will be his intention."

Celtic reached the play-off round of the Champions League in February, losing out 3-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich after winning three and drawing three of their eight league phase matches.

Rodgers' side are on the brink of a 13th Premiership crown in 14 years, having already won the League Cup, while they meet St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at the weekend.

"I don't think he worries about domestically, he has a strong team, good players, healthy squad and he's quite happy with that," added Petrov, who was promoting Premier Sports' cup coverage.

"But I think with his comments, he tried to challenge the board, and now the board needs to answer. What they have to do is just go and spend money.

"I'm sure that Celtic will do that because what I've seen over the year, their recruitment has been really good. The development of the players has been great."

'Rodgers knows the club inside out'

Former Aston Villa and Bulgaria captain Petrov also thinks Celtic will be working on a new deal for Rodgers, who returned for a second spell in the summer of 2023.

The 52-year-old landed a Premiership and Scottish Cup double last term and will be hoping to add to the two domestic trebles he achieved in his first stint in Glasgow.

Rodgers' current deal runs to the end of next season and, before Saturday's 5-1 win over Kilmarnock, he said he was "150%" sure he would remain in charge for the next campaign.

"He's done a great job," said Petrov. "I think it will be silly from the board not to continue with Brendan. So far, he hasn't given any reasons for the board or the fans to think anything else.

"If the team finishes with a treble this year and a good European campaign, you have to look at that, and I'm sure that the board is looking into it because he's Celtic through and through and he's a great manager.

"He knows the club inside out, he knows the players as well now, and he's got the opportunity to add his own players that he feels can help the team develop."