BRENDAN Rodgers has insisted the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final at Hampden tomorrow may not be Greg Taylor’s last game for Celtic and expressed hope the full-back could still remain at Parkhead.
Scotland internationalist Taylor is out of contract this summer and has so far declined to accept the extension which the Glasgow club, who have re-signed Kieran Tierney from Arsenal, have offered him.
The Scottish champions’ fans expect the former Kilmarnock defender, who has been linked with a move to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia this season, to end his six year stay in the East End after the meeting with Aberdeen at Hampden tomorrow.
However, Rodgers spoke at length to the 27-year-old, who is set to start in the meeting with Jimmy Thelin’s team, on Wednesday and remains optimistic that he may decide to stay.
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“I had a long conversation with Greg yesterday,” he said. “The door's not closed. Both he and I will just focus on the performance level of the team. Once the season's over on Saturday then he'll have a bit more thinking time with a lot more space to be able to do that.
“I wouldn't shut the door totally on it. A number of weeks back I gave my feeling about what may happen, having experienced so many of these situations and seen what it can look like. I would definitely say it's not 100 per cent it'll be his last game.
“But there has to be an agreement between himself and his representatives and the club and if that's not reached then he won't be here. He'll move on. But it's certainly not closed as of yet.”
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Rodgers continued, “Listen, it's not all on Greg either. I think it's something that there needs to be that solution between the two parties.
“Like every player, he recognises this is a big contract for him and a big contract in that this will carry him for the next four or five years. At 27, that's one of your last big contracts as a player.
“So everything has to be right. He’s become a father recently as well. So, there's lots of things that he has to take care of on that side and I've always tried to respect that space that he's needed for that.
“It's not all financial. So, that's where it's at. I've made it clear all the way along that I'm very keen for him to stay. He's loved his time here, he's enjoyed playing and he's a real part of what we're doing here. So, hopefully it can find its way out to him being here, but if not then we've lost a fantastic young player.”
