MOST managers nowadays work alongside a team to identify players and Celtic are no different, but I have no doubt in my mind that Brendan Rodgers has the final say on all signings.

I know he spoke about Maryan Shved last week in terms of the club signing him, but there is no way that he didn’t have the final say.

Lee Congerton is there to work with Brendan and identify players that can come in and help the team, and I think at times the two of them will have been frustrated as targets have failed to arrive. But I don’t think that the club would be signing players without the manager’s full say-so.

Brendan has a clear plan and structure within his team, and every player that comes into the club will have to be able to thrive within that.

So, I dismiss entirely the notion that there is the board on one side targeting players for a manager who may not want them. The whole operation will involve the management team, the recruitment team and the board all speaking to one another.

They may not always see eye to eye in terms of the money they can spend, but I just can’t see a manager of Brendan;s stature and experience having players foisted upon him that he doesn’t want, and so there is no doubt in my mind who has the final say before a player signs on that dotted line.