Rodgers, Brendan – Misc Articles (1st Stint)

As a starry-eyed 11-year-old, Brendan Rodgers made the trip from County Antrim to County Donegal on a short pilgrimage to watch Celtic in action for the first time.

The pre-season friendly in Ballybofey saw League of Ireland side Finn Harps outclassed by their Scottish visitors, the midfield strings pulled by a certain Tommy Burns in a facile 3-0 victory.

Little did he know then, but Burns would prove to be a hugely significant influence and inspiration to the man who has become Celtic 
manager.

Their paths first formally crossed in 1998 at Reading where Rodgers, his playing career cut short at just 20 by injury, was a youth coach when Burns was in charge.

Burns made a profound and lasting impression on Rodgers who has revealed his destiny as a potential future Celtic manager was even foreseen by the much-loved club icon just a year before his untimely death in 2008.

“The last time I saw Tommy, bless him, I came up here to watch a game against Hearts in 2007,” recalled Rodgers.

“I was working with the reserves with Chelsea at the time and was talking with Leicester City about maybe getting my first job in management with them.

“I thought I needed somebody experienced to come in beside me. At the time, Milan Mandaric was the Leicester chairman and he was talking about a director of football. So I said: ‘Listen, if I am going to come in to Leicester I would love to bring a guy in with me, Tommy Burns’.

“My idea was to get Tommy in to Leicester as a director of football, because he wasn’t really wanting to manage in his own right any more. He was working within the youth department at Celtic at the time.

“So I came up to see him and we talked about if I got the job at Leicester he could come in as a director of football. He said one day he could come back to Celtic as a director of football and I could come back as a manager. That is how ironic it is.

“At that point, what he was talking about was being a director of football at Celtic. I came up, met him in the hotel the night before, we had a great chat, I came to the game and we went back to his house to see his wife, Rosemary, afterwards.

“It was something he was keen to do from a football perspective. I think his family and Rosemary had been down south for a few years and 
wanted to be up here. But it was certainly something that made him think.

“But the only thing that was making him want to do it was the possibility of him coming back to Celtic one day as the director of football with me as a manager. So this is a poignant day for me, really.

“When I first started out in coaching, it was on a part-time basis at Reading. When I stopped playing I was working in the academy there. Obviously, I looked up to Tommy because I was a Celtic supporter and he had been a player here.

“But when he came in at Reading, he sort of took me under his wing a bit. We were able to talk about football and very quickly I saw his passion for it. I knew he was a fantastic player and had known him from managing Celtic.

“In all fairness to Tommy, his brain was that of a top player. When he was at Reading as a manager, he probably didn’t work with a level of player that matched his abilities. But what I saw at that early stage of my coaching career was two things.

“One was the detail that he put into his coaching. He loved working with players, loved improving players, loved making them better. But also his human qualities impressed me. He was a wonderful man.

“I used to watch him and see him about the place and even when he was under pressure there he never changed. He was a good man. He always had time for you and I never ever forgot that.

“As a young coach I was looking for many influences and many inspirations. Tommy was a huge influence. He was there with Packie Bonner. Both of them were extremely helpful to me in the early stages of my coaching career.

“I have just noticed the photos of him on the walls here. He will always be here. For me to follow in the footsteps of Jock Stein, Billy McNeill, Davie Hay and Tommy and these guys as manager is an incredible feeling of privilege for me.

“I think Tommy would be very proud of me today. He was a Celtic man, he always just wanted what was best for Celtic – whether he was supporting, playing for or ultimately managing the club. He never lost that love for the club, even when he’d left to coach at other places like Newcastle and Reading. His passion and emotion for Celtic was always there.”

Rodgers is savouring the latest challenge in his career, insisting he is revitalised after a break from football in the wake of his sacking by Liverpool last October.

“It was hard on me,” he admitted. “But I have had a good break now. People might say that [this is a step down] but they don’t know this club. I have come into a huge club here. There is a brand of clubs that are renowned worldwide.

“Liverpool is one of them and Celtic is one of them. It is a huge honour for me to come here. It is a different football level here but the challenge of getting to the Champions League and dominating the game in Scottish football with the challenge from Rangers and Aberdeen really excites me. I remember Tommy and Packie saying to me when I was at Reading that at Celtic, it is like no other club. You have to win every game. When you win it is great but when you lose it is a disaster and I never lost that meaning from Tommy and Packie.

“There is not another club like it. You can go to Manchester United and draw as Liverpool manager and it can be a good result, depending on the situation.

“You don’t get that here, you have got to win the games. Every single game is a pressure 
situation and there are not many teams in the world have that.”

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Brendan Rodgers loves and lives for the psychology of football
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes getting into is players heads is vital in the modern game

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes getting into is players heads is vital in the modern game

1 hr ago / Neil Cameron
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THE shout used to be “on your head” but as football and life changed that well-worn phrase has been tweaked.

Psychology is a huge part of the game, nowhere more so than Celtic, where Brendan Rodgers is more of a ‘in your head’ kind of a manager.

Rodgers loves this part of football; how to get into the minds of the most complex of personalities. It’s a skill the best coaches need because footballers are rarely easy to read.

“I think psychology is massive,” said Rodgers. “I have found that part of the game fascinating, in terms of getting the best out of people. I always think that, if a player can run from here to there in half a second, then that is great.

“And if Moussa Dembele can jump out of this room, then what is it that makes him jump? That is the mental part of it.

“I think a lot of work goes into the technical, the tactical, and obviously the physical, but the mental aspect is about managing the pressure and the stress, and being consistent. That is obviously the key. I tend to focus on that quite a lot.”

Playing at Celtic is both easy and difficult. This is a team which dominates at home and even when they do lose in Europe, the supporters are savvy enough not to go in too hard on the players.

But it’s a 24/7 profession and so many have found the club too big for them. This is where Rodgers believes the mind becomes as important as the ability to kick a football.

“Sometimes ‘pressure’ is about perception,” he said. “You get given pressure but it’s about how you take it. If you want to be successful, the reality is, it’s always there. It never goes away. If you want to win, and be successful, then to be relentless like that comes a little bit of pressure.

“It’s my job to help the players come a little bit away from that, and let them focus on the football. I’ll take whatever comes with the pressure, so long as they can go out and give their very, very best. In this context, in the short period of time that I’ve been with this squad, they’ve been outstanding.”

Rodgers studied NLP, neuro-linguistic programming, for five years, which might explain much of his approach to coaching and his style of getting the best out of his players.

“They have to be committed and I don’t mean motivation,” he said. “Motivation is attached to emotion and you are going to be up and down all the time. If you’re committed, we will organise a plan for you to be the best you can be, as whatever team sport it is, it’s about the individual too.

“From that, I always say, ‘It’s your responsibility…the crown is on your head’. You are the king of your own destiny. Wherever you go, is down to you.”

“We have the tools that can make them the best they can be and hopefully they then deliver excellence on the field. Hopefully they then represent the club and the team in the best way they can.”

Celtic: Upbringing crucial for manager Brendan Rodgers

By Tom English

BBC Scotland

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38925782
Brendan Rodgers: Talent alone is not enough

We’re only talking a year, but it seems like a whole lot longer.

Twelve months ago only three points separated Celtic from Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership table. That’s a trippy thought when you look at that table now and the 27-point gulf that exists between the same two clubs.

Close to this time last year, the Dons beat Ronny Deila’s team at Pittodrie, but it wasn’t a revelation. Ross County had beaten Celtic the week before and had dumped them out of the League Cup. Motherwell had beaten them a while before that. Rangers would do it months later and remove them from the Scottish Cup.

Everything was in flux then. There was weakness where now there is only strength. On Thursday afternoon, Brendan Rodgers moved from room to room at Lennoxtown on his busy press conference beat.

He’s in flying form. When he reaches us he talks about Carnlough in Antrim, where he was reared, and Ballymena, 25 minutes inland, where he was educated. Same school as Liam Neeson, the actor. Same town as Willie John McBride, the rugby icon. “Some big men there,” he smiles. “Bigger than me.”

Well, yes and no.
Your parents are your best teachers

When doing research on Brendan Rodgers you have to get through some amount of eulogies from his brief reign at Celtic – the players he improved, those he brought in and made stars of, the unbeaten run, the tactical wit, the authority, the positivity, the trophy already won, the league as good as won and the Scottish Cup to play for, continuing at the weekend with a tie against Inverness.

Dig deeper and you find the stuff from before, mention after mention of psychology, self-improvement. The tenets of his philosophy.

“It probably comes from growing up,” he says. “My parents were about being the best they could be.” He lost them far too soon, his mum, Christina, aged 53 and his dad, Malachy, just 59.

“It was borne out of a childhood growing up with really positive parents who made you feel you can achieve things with hard work. You have teachers at school but your best teachers are your parents, they’re your role models. They worked for everything. Five kids, and we didn’t have a lot of money, but we were rich in the values they gave us.”

Malachy Rodgers was a painter and decorator, a stand-up guy, a rock.

“I remember leaving home as a 16-year-old going to England to start an apprenticeship as a footballer and when I came back at the end of the year I thought I’d be having a relaxing time.
December 2008: Manager Brendan Rodgers celebrates with Watford skipper Tommy Smith after a win over Norwich City
December 2008: Manager Brendan Rodgers celebrates with Watford skipper Tommy Smith after a win over Norwich City

“The next day I had to paint the wall out the front of the garden. It was those little bricks that were out in the 1980s that had all the designs and I had to do one side and then the other side and it felt like that was my holiday gone. But I had to help him.

“He was a worker, he liked his sons to work and I like my teams to work. For me, it’s an obligation, it’s not a choice. My father loved seeing skilful football. He loved teams that played with that panache, that charisma, that arrogance, but he would reference the best players and say, ‘Look at how hard they work’. That was probably something I was picking up on as a kid. It becomes ingrained in you.”

It was a life lesson that still has a meaning every day.

At 20, Rodgers’ playing career ended through injury. Another massive landmark on his road to Glasgow. He was a father, a man in need of money but with few options to get it.

“That was the making of me. When I was a young player and I had to quit, at the time academies weren’t around so there weren’t many jobs in football. I always wanted to coach but I had a family and I had to provide for them. So I got a job with John Lewis in their main warehouse in Bracknell while I was doing my coaching badges.

“I’d be up at five o’clock in the morning and doing a 12-hour shift, five days a week and after that I went coaching. I knew what I wanted to do.”
Dedryck Boyata? In the gym past midnight
Brendan Rodgers hopes striker Leigh Griffiths can improve aspects of his game
Brendan Rodgers hopes striker Leigh Griffiths can improve aspects of his game

Last week Rodgers spoke about the psychology of footballers. It was part of a discussion about Leigh Griffiths’ plight this season and the things he needs to do to get better. Rodgers is a big fan of the striker, but wants to see him develop a mentality to match his talent.

“With Scottish, and Irish players, it’s just letting them know that they’ve been given a talent and when you’re young you can get away with just talent. You can be the quickest boy in school, the strongest, the most skilful, but as you progress into your professional life it’s about talent plus the hard work. The talent alone at this point will be no good for you.

“What happens sometimes with young Scottish and Irish players that I’ve seen and worked with is other things come into their life and they become wasted talents. With wasted talents what you get is they still play but they blame everyone else.

“It’s not about Leigh. I’m talking generally. I have a real good relationship with Leigh, he’s brilliant for me and he’s a big part of what I’m doing here. But I want him to be the best he can be. What I’m challenging him to do is look at how you are in every facet of your life as a professional. If we can change a little that might actually change a lot.

“It’s just making players aware that you can improve, you can improve tenfold in terms of what you are and it starts with how you approach your life as a footballer, how you apply yourself to diet and nutrition. We’re trying to build a consistent Champions League club here so you have to have a Champions League mentality.

“If you don’t, it’s OK, I don’t lose sleep over it, there’ll be somebody else to come and fill your place.”
Brendan Rodgers and Dedryck Boyata
Dedryck Boyata has worked his way back into the Celtic first team under Rodgers

He tells a story of a conversation he had with a player, a 25-year-old whose identity he doesn’t reveal. “I said, ‘You’ve got 10 years left as a footballer. You’ve virtually only got 120 pay packets left – that’s it. And that’s if you look after your body.

“So, OK, it might not have gone quite right for you up until 25 but between now and 35 you’ve only got 120 pay packets and that’s to do you for a lifetime. So can we now apply ourselves better and that’ll improve you as a player and you might just get a little hike in those pay packets for you and your family?’ It’s reality.”

The example in all of this is not any of the superstars Rodgers coached at Liverpool. No, it’s Dedryck Boyata.

Rodgers has a world of time for the centre-half and the way he knuckled down when he lost his place at Celtic. “When he wasn’t in the squad for games he’d come back here (Lennoxtown) and he’d be working in the gym to midnight and beyond so when his chance came he was going to be ready. I always say to them, ‘The door will open for you, just be ready to come through it’.”
It was like when Santa brought me the Celtic jersey

Even though he’s only 44, Rodgers has known all sorts of different pressure in football management. At Watford, it was the stress of a relegation battle, which he won. At Swansea it was about defying the odds and taking the club to the Premier League. At Liverpool it was about trying to restore greatness – or even relevance – in the Premier League title race.

In all those jobs he was up against bigger opposition, so the burden was different to the one he carries now. He’s the big beast these days. So where’s the drive coming from?

“It goes back to what I said at the start – to be the best you can be. I need pressure and there’s a different pressure here compared to my other jobs, but it’s a big pressure. It’s a different feeling when you’re managing a club that you supported as a child.

“I walked in here on my first day and getting ready to train, I stood and stared at my kit with the Celtic badge. It didn’t feel like work any more. This felt like a passion and a dream. So just pulling on the training kit for the first time felt like when I first put on my Celtic kit that Santa brought when I was younger.

“I know what I’m representing here, worldwide. I’m loving every minute of it.”
Brendan Rodgers and Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez was a prolific scorer for Liverpool while Rodgers was in charge at Anfield

He gets asked about his next move quite a bit. Once he’s hoovered up everything in Scotland and has made more progress in Europe, is a return to England inevitable? And when does he make that return?

There’s always a straight bat applied to that one. He doesn’t make those kind of plans any more. “I’m very happy in my life – my personal life and my professional life. I never tend to put a timeline on anything like that.

“I’ll never forget when I was at Liverpool. I signed a new deal supposedly to be the architect of a club going forward. That was in the June and in the September people were calling for me to get the sack. So you learn to stay calm.

“I can never promise I’ll be here for the next six months, six years, one year. I just try to enjoy every single day. All I ever think about is how to be the best I can be for Celtic.”

His parents’ mantra. It’s still in him, now and for ever.

Brendan Rodgers on his first year anniversary at Celtic: “I never thought I could be this happy”
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/celtic/15298415.Brendan_Rodgers_on_his_first_year_anniversary_at_Celtic___quot_I_never_thought_I_could_be_this_happy_quot_/4 days ago /

Alison McConnell
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A year ago today Brendan Rodgers signed the papers, ordered the champagne in and kicked back to drink in a scenic Majorcan view.

That contract has been upgraded to a four-year one and while the view might not be a Spanish coastline, there is scarcely a cloud on the horizon. You can be sure there will be champagne on tap on Sunday evening as Celtic take formal reception of the league title. The potential is there for a Treble while and becoming Invincibles seems like a formality. Rodgers has been in anything but holiday mode.

The Celtic manager has put Celtic back on the map again, although he joked that he had a bit of a hard sell convincing his fiancé about a move to a club she had never heard of.

“It all came through, it got signed,” smiled Rodgers, who was named Ladbrokes Manager of the Year yesterday as well as the Scottish Football Writers’ Manager of the Year. “I was in Majorca with my fiancee, Charlotte, overlooking Port Adriano in Majorca and we celebrated with some champagne. Charlotte hasn’t ever been into football so she hadn’t really heard of Celtic. But she loves it here.”

And Rodgers has revealed that the club has surpassed his own expectations of what the role would bring.

“It has been better,” he said. “I have to say. I never thought I could be this happy – in everything really. I have got great relations with the directors, a great working relationship and a real respect for Peter [Lawwell].

“On a daily basis we communicate. They have given me freedom to work and as a coach in the modern game it is very hard to get that. They offered me the ability to create and be the architect of the club and they have been true to their word. Absolutely amazing. I have constant feedback from Dermot [Desmond].

“I see the board regularly. I operate with Peter, we communicate, it’s very open, it’s very professional, he’s a good man, a very clever guy. Then I have got amazing staff. When I accepted the responsibility to come here to Celtic I knew what it was and I was very happy to take it and happy to live with that pressure because it’s a huge expectation at a club like this.

“It is a worldwide institution. There is always a demand on clubs like us here. But I think I am built for this type of challenge. I am really enjoying.

“The finances involved in the Premier League, and the challenge there, is huge. But it’s about being happy and I’ve found a real happiness here. I could go elsewhere and be financially a lot better off.

“But I’ve learned through time and experience that it’s more than that. I’ve done well in my life, I’ve been lucky, and for me it’s about happiness. If you have that then that happiness give you energy. Then you’ll stay longer and be more consistent, hopefully in a happier life.”

Desmond has been criticised by supporters at times for being an absentee landlord, but it is a view that Rodgers was keen to put right, insisting that the majority shareholder has the club firmly at the forefront of his thoughts.

“Dermot wakes up in the morning and thinks of Celtic, he looks at everything Celtic, he goes to bed at night, everything Celtic,” said the Hoops manager. “He will be in contact with me on a fairly regular basis. It might only be three or four lines in a text offering encouragement and support, it might be a meeting in London, it might be a phone call, but it is constant. It is always there. I couldn’t ask for any more. There is a real, real trust to it.

“I can’t speak highly enough of them and if there is any reassurance that the supporters ever needed from one of their own then I will tell them. These are people and guys who have an incredible commitment to this club. There is a real feel, a real focus on the club and they are really passionate about the club moving forward.”

Meanwhile, Celtic’s old barrowfield training ground may seem a world away from the glamour and intrigue of the Champions League, but it is where Rodgers believed he can help elevate the club into the next tier of European football.

The Celtic manager spent an evening at the training facility this week with primary school kids, ensuring that there is no stone left unturned when it comes to getting everything turned constant progression.

Breaking the glass ceiling in Europe is ultimately where Celtic will garner not only respect but the financial rewards that will enable them to continue their upward trajectory. But it is now always in the transfer market where that will happen.

“It’s a huge task and it’s a huge ask,” said Rodgers. “The budgets are night and day different. The revenue streams are very, very difficult, but we have to push. We have to do our very best. It’s always going to be very difficult. I’m optimistic but I’m realistic. People go back to the era when Martin was here but there was a big financial input into the club and it’s nowhere near that now, with all due respect.

“How can we find a way? Can we find it through a football idea? Can we bring the club together with a philosophy that runs right the way through, that’s ingrained within the kids, through the developments teams straight on to the first team?

“Can we get as many of the boys from the academy base in there? Can we get an extra percentage from them, because you’ve got a [Kieran] Tierney, you’ve got an [Anthony] Ralston, you’ve got a [Callum] McGregor? If you get an extra one percent from those, does that give you the extra 10-15% that can push you on?

The vision and the view of the future is pretty clear here, in terms of where we want to go.

Brendan Rodgers and a reputation restored – The Set Pieces

http://thesetpieces.com/features/brendan-rodgers-reputation-restored/ The Set Pieces – By Daniel Storey June 5, 2017 Brendan Rodgers and a reputation restored It’s strange to think that Celtic’s season mirabilis started with the most humiliating defeat in the club’s history. In front of 1,632 people in Gibraltar’s Victoria Stadium, Celtic lost 1-0 to a goal from police officer Lee Casciaro. The Lincoln Red Imps line-up also included a customs officer, a taxi driver and a fireman. “This has probably superseded anything that has gone before. It is that bad for the club, it’s that bad for this team and I think Brendan Rodgers realises the size of the task he now has here,” BBC Scotland commentator Liam McLeod said on air. “It’s inexplicable to think that Celtic are having to come back from a deficit in the second leg of a Champions League qualifier against a side from the overseas British territory of Gibraltar.” After the game, Rodgers said that there was “no embarrassment” in losing to the part-timers and the football world rolled its eyes as one. Classic Brendan, he hadn’t learned a thing. Ten months later, Celtic were crowned treble winners and Invincibles, the first team to remain unbeaten during a top-flight season in Scotland since Rangers in 1898/99. That Rangers team played 18 matches; Celtic managed 20 more. Rodgers’s team dropped only eight points.
Rodgers is a difficult manager to warm to, and for some that is a laughable understatement. His time at Liverpool was littered with ‘Brendanisms’, statements and boasts that offered an insight into his self-obsession. He would eventually drown in a river of his own self-promotion, pride coming before a tumbling, endless fall. The ego had crash-landed. “If you spend more than £100 million, you expect to be challenging for the league,” was Rodgers’ famous assessment of Tottenham, not long before he spent £117 million and took Liverpool from second to sixth, as well as overseeing an abject Champions League campaign. Then there was the extraordinary optimism. “After that opening 10 or 15 minutes, when they had a bit too much space behind our midfield, it was the near-perfect away performance,” came the claim after a 2-0 defeat to Zenit St Petersburg. Upon being appointed at Anfield, he spoke of reaching “death by football…sucking the life out of the opposition”. It was Rodgers’s quasi-philosophy that provided the most entertainment. He picked himself as his biggest mentor, spoke of educating players rather than training dogs, building airplanes mid-flight, and the impossibility of surviving without hope. If the accusation was of a deep-seated self-importance, the huge portrait of himself in his lounge hardly disproved the case. There is a reason for the bravado, of course. Rodgers wore this unwavering self-belief as a padded coat, shielding him from the cold wind of criticism. It also doubled up as a protection for his players, a somewhat warped version of the siege mentality that Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho used so effectively during their most successful spells. Making yourself the story is a high-risk management strategy, but it can certainly pay off. Rodgers’s cliches becoming the most notable aspect of his management made his Liverpool tenure incredibly difficult to judge accurately. Yet whether he was the manager who took the club to the brink of the Premier League title or the man who let all of the goodwill slip away through the holes in his personality, we can all agree on with thing: Rodgers was not as good as he thought. Embed from Getty Images It was almost unthinkable, then, that he could improve his reputation at Celtic, particularly after that night in Gibraltar. Celtic were in a league of one in the Scottish Premiership, runaway title winners before a ball had been kicked. The best Rodgers could hope for was comfortable domestic success and a favourable Champions League draw, perhaps leading to a run in the Europa League. A group stage alongside Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach made that task even more unlikely. Yet Rodgers has rebounded from his Liverpool failure, and improved upon even the most optimistic predictions for his first season at Parkhead. Not only were Celtic unbeaten during their league season, but they doubled the gap to second place from 15 points under Ronny Deila to 30 points. While Deila oversaw a Champions League exit before the group stage, and a winless Europa League group stage campaign, Celtic earned plaudits for their home and away performances against Manchester City, plus a creditable draw in Monchengladbach. Rodgers also won both cup competitions to earn Celtic a fourth domestic treble. He can call himself Mr Invincible and be only half giving in to conceit. Rodgers’s greatest strength as a coach has always been maintaining momentum when on a winning run, and taking players beyond a level they have previously reached. He has developed and nurtured Kieran Tierney, Stuart Armstrong and Moussa Dembele, and reinvigorated Scott Sinclair and Mikael Lustig. Embed from Getty Images But despite his predictable insistence that Celtic is his spiritual home, it is hard to resist the assumption that Rodgers is using Scottish football as a reboot for his own reputation. He signed a three-year deal in May 2016, but were Stoke, Southampton or Crystal Palace to offer him a job plus a sizeable transfer budget, could he really say no? Having achieved at least two seasons’ work in the space of one, could you really blame him? Celtic are unlikely to spend significant sums on new players and risk their financial health with the domestic title a foregone conclusion and significant Champions League progress so unlikely. Rodgers is more aware than most of how a reputation at a high-profile club can quickly go south, but after a season in which no British manager finished in the top eight of the Premier League, none finished in the Championship’s top six, and the England manager was promoted from within, he can lay claim to be top of that particular class. Part of his desire to return to the Premier League will be his determination to prove his critics wrong. Any story that ends with ‘and I had the last laugh’ surely makes it onto Rodgers’s reading list. As ever, he would be advised to walk before he can run. If he believes his Celtic success has earned him a top-six team in the Premier League, perhaps he should think again. His task in Glasgow – namely assembling a squad of players on a budget and making them greater than the sum of their parts – is more equivalent to his success at Swansea, not Liverpool. Yet this should not be the time for negative spin. There will be those who remain convinced that this is a managerial reputation built on a blend of bravado and clever PR, but in Glasgow Rodgers has at least taken several steps along the road to redemption. “I couldn’t have written the script any better,” he said after Celtic’s treble was confirmed via a late winner in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen. That may be true for this season, but a man like Rodgers is never not thinking several steps into the future. The next chapter of this story involves a glorious return and a manager serving humble pie on a silver platter to assorted guests.

How Brendan Rodgers got his mojo back

The Times

September 10 2017, 12:01am,
Taking Celtic job has re-invigorated manager, who found he ‘got tired’ towards the end of his Liverpool reign
Jonathan Northcroft, Football correspondent

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away.
This year, to save me from tears, I gave it to Brendan Rodgers.” — Celtic fans
He was unveiled with 13,000 in the stands to hail a messiah, his uncle wet-eyed in the press room. Celtic Park, last May: 16 months on Brendan Rodgers and his football club are still surfing the wave of love energy. “I got tired towards the end at Liverpool,” Rodgers told a Premier League coaches’ conference recently. “I was absolutely flying, nearly won the league, played a great brand of football but felt as time went on my sort of control went, and I probably resigned myself a wee bit.”
No danger of that at Celtic Park. This is Brendan’s club. Scotland is a landscape becoming shaped by him (six Celtic players now in the national team). And he’s older, wiser, probably harder, and certainly more zealous than ever. Post-Liverpool, he reflected on how much a boss sets their workplace tone. “Just never get tired,” he told the coaches. “Everything you’re creating, the culture, the environment, the standards…just never get tired of doing it.”
And so, last week, Rodgers and his staff prepared for a visit to Hamilton Accies with the same focus, same zest as for the following game: Paris Saint-Germain. Scott Brown was same as ever, training full bore in shorts and t-shirt despite torrential rain. Brown wears the same attire even when it’s snowing.
Rodgers loves that, his captain’s hardy, up-for-it-ness, and that starlet Kieran Tierney wears the same. It’s not just quality but zeal that has taken Celtic to 54 domestic games unbeaten and if the Champions League is different, the approach is not. Last September Celtic lost 7-0 at Barcelona and Rodgers “felt we were intimidated. But now we’ve had a year together and play without fear wherever we go.”
A performance similar to the 3-3 draw with then-rampant Manchester City, in the game following the 7-0, “is the level” Celtic need reach on Tuesday, says Rodgers. “Domestically we dominate, we counter-press. [In Europe] we work on a different side of our game, counterattack.” The plan is more measured but still offensive.
“Our identity is important. I’ve always been about playing without fear and ensuring they know they’re in a game,” says Rodgers. “I always want us to really test the opponent, see how they feel under pressure when you’re breathing right up against them.”
If there’s hope, it’s that PSG folded in pressure spots (Nou Camp 2017, Etihad 2016) in previous campaigns, and Celtic Park can blow away any European team. The flipside, of course, is PSG adding £370m of talent, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, to an already daunting attack and injuries leave Rodgers improvising in defence.
Rodgers wanted another centre-back in the summer, but Everton wouldn’t release Phil Jagielka and Jason Denayer was promised to Galatasaray. He may have to play Tierney in the middle with Erik Sviatchenko out and Dedryck Boyata only back in training this weekend. But, without fear: the two words with which Rodgers always signs off his programme notes. Neymar? He scored one and assisted four goals in that 7-0. “He’s like a motorbike, he’s so fast and balanced. He commits people. The best players go at people, they don’t pass it all the time,” Rodgers says.
If Neymar encapsulates PSG’s opulent ambition, Tierney symbolises where Celtic are: attempting to grow towards elite classs from disadvantaged base. “Kieran’s a wonderful example of what I would call the silver medalist. Guys like Neymar are the gold medallists, that’s where they always are, but Kieran had to fight.
“The (Scotland) under-17 team had eight players from Celtic’s academy and he wasn’t one. But make no mistake, this is now a young player who can play at the very top of the Premier League if that’s ever where he wants to go. He’s got an incredible, old-school determination. He lives his life right, he doesn’t drink or do stupid things, he’s in every day training like a dog. He fights, he runs, he’s aggressive — and he’s a lovely boy.”
Rodgers found Celtic “a bit broken” when he arrived. Ronny Deila filled the squad with such as Tyler Blackett, Teemu Pukki and Carlton Cole. The contrast is Rodgers rebooting the Scots at their core via his playing ideas; promoting kids like Tierney and recruiting youthful flair: Moussa Dembele, Patrick Roberts and, now, from PSG themselves, loanee Odsonne Édouard.
In Slovenia, during his first pre-season, he asked players to list three values they wanted central to their group. The answers were dedication, respect and watching each other’s backs. Rodgers and his gifted young No 2, Chris Davies, have re-enforced these values ever since.
Rodgers laid a gauntlet back. Celtic had five titles in a row, but Deila’s last was scruffy. “Could we win in a better way?” Rodgers challenged. In fact, could we win the best way we possibly could?
Individuals have bought in: Brown, reinvented as controlling midfielder, Craig Gordon as ball-playing goalkeeper. Upon arriving, when Rodgers and Davies watched videos of their new team, their eyes were drawn to Leigh Griffiths’ box-craft — not just his finishing but way he worked himself opportunities. Good enough for any level, Rodgers and Davies concluded. A striker once seen as mere Scottish Premiership bully has been worked on, broadened, elevated. Development makes Rodgers happiest and don’t bet against him fulfilling the four-year contract signed in April. He’s 44, there’s still plenty time for a Premier League return, and friends have never seen him so fulfilled. He’s aware there can be snooty dismissal of achievements north of the border, like his undefeated treble, but who, south of the border, understands the dynamics?
Glasgow, Europe’s football-daftest city. Scotland, the most physically committed league. Limitless expectations, limited budget. Even when winning nine in a row with Rangers, Walter Smith remarked he was only two defeats from crisis and three from the sack.
“Listen, I came here because of Celtic,” says Rodgers. “but I’ve got to say, I’ve absolutely loved it. I’ve seen many parts of Scotland I wasn’t aware of. I’ve met many great coaches, great managers. What’s missing up here is finance. The TV deal is nowhere near. The Premier League is the best, most competitive league; the finances are there. But there’s something with that, that’s uncomfortable.
“I look and see Frank De Boer under pressure after three games: I mean, what is that? Slaven Bilic has done a great job, but he’s under pressure. I look and think, great league, brilliant clubs, but it’s going a different way. You get up here and it’s really authentic. You get authentic clubs. Clubs that are fighting for their lives, trying to do the best they possibly can.
“The games… you’re expected to win at Celtic, but they’re still tough games. Ask any player. If you were playing for Liverpool, a real tough game was away at Mansfield, Oldham. Because those players fight, they get in your face. Well, here it’s like that every game.
“It’s always been the case (Scottish football is belittled). It doesn’t go away, but there’s still an incredible environment here to play in, and work in, and one that leaves you happy, one that leads to actually see the fruits of your work — which is development
“And I love the tactical challenge. We played Aberdeen six times last year, Rangers six times, and in those games you’re having to find different ways to win. Lots of teams sit in against you, so tactically, can you find ways to win?
“In every way, I’ve become a better manager up here: tactically, working at a huge club, and being able to have the freedom to work.”
Fifty seasons ago Celtic entered the European Cup as holders. The Lisbon Lions commemorations further whetted Rodgers’ European appetite. His players get to wear a jersey with a European star, PSG’s do not.
A motivation for them? “That’s right,” says Rodgers, laughing. “Follow the star! Come to us… you get a star. There you only get 600 grand a week.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: I’d be nothing without my parents

By Chris McLaughlin

BBC Sport

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41784421

Who is Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers’ greatest inspiration?

There are two key motivating factors behind the success of Brendan Rodgers, the man who led Celtic to an “invincible” treble – his mother and his father.

The former Liverpool manager’s relationship with his parents is the unmistakeable thread that weaves its way through the new book that documents his road to becoming boss at his boyhood heroes.

“They lost their lives too early and I would be nothing without them,” said the 44-year-old.

The determination and drive that’s shaped his career comes from their memory but not necessarily from their genes.

Both of his parents died in their 50s after a life spent working hard and raising a family in the village of Carnlough in County Antrim.

“My father was a really nice man but the one thing he would probably say if he was alive is that he probably waited for too many things,” says Rodgers.

“Even if he did a job, he didn’t like asking for the money. He was always waiting for the good nature of people to bring him things and I always remember thinking as a youngster that I was never going to be like that.
Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers led Celtic to the treble last season in his first year in charge – his team did not lose a domestic match

“I always thought that if I was going to be successful, I was going to have to go and get it myself.

“I learned growing up and saw too many struggles they had when they relied on other people, and from then I was determined that whatever happened in my life, I was going to create it.”

He created a life in coaching for himself after injury cut short his dreams of becoming a successful player.

His autobiography – “Brendan Rodgers: The Road to Paradise” – touches on his success at Swansea and his time in charge of Liverpool.

Sacked after four seasons in charge at Anfield, Rodgers discusses his need for a physical and mental break from the game.

“I had an incident when I left Liverpool. Within a couple of weeks I went to Dubai and I lay in fear one night that I was having a heart attack,” he recalls.

“I suppose my mum’s situation maybe came over me because she died suddenly of a heart attack.

“I was rushed into the hospital. I was looked after great and it was basically a reaction to the body, the tightening of everywhere in and around my chest.

“It was starting to condition itself in terms of not having that pressure, so that was something that really made me sit up.”

He says he has learned to deal with pressures and with the attention.

At 39, he was thrust into the world of fly-on-the-wall TV in his first year as manager of Liverpool.

A film crew was tasked with catching a behind-the-scenes, warts-and-all look at the life at a football club.

Much has been made of a particular scene from Rodgers’ home that showed a large painting of the man himself.

The perception of vanity it may have created clearly irked the Irishman.

“It was something that I never really wanted to do and probably in hindsight, it should never have been put onto a manager – especially a young manager,” he says of the programme.

“There’s a perception that can be built around something like that but of course the reality and the story behind it is somewhat different.”

The painting was actually produced and presented to him by a group of disabled children in Swansea.

He jokes: “I’m a rough Irishman, you try to be as presentable as you can!

“But it was more the disappointment and the notion behind that. I was proud of it to be up there because of them doing it.

“It wasn’t me putting it up there because it’s me, but if people did come into the house and they see it, there’s a story behind it.”

Brendan Rodgers insists he won’t get bored of vision and work ethic Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers shows off the League Cup to the fans. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/brendan-rodgers-insists-he-won-t-get-bored-of-vision-and-work-ethic-1-4624771 STEPHEN HALLIDAY Published: 06:00 Tuesday 28 November 2017 f history is indeed written by the victors, then Brendan Rodgers already appears assured of a special chapter in the annals of Scottish football. With his current direction of travel as Celtic manager, he is passing domestic landmarks at a breathless pace, which makes comparisons with his predecessors difficult to 
quantify. The first man since Jock Stein to win four consecutive domestic trophies at the helm of the club, Rodgers wants the standards he is setting at the Scottish champions to carry a resonance which lasts long after his tenure comes to 
an end. He remains dismissive of suggestions he will ever become bored of the relentless level of success he enjoys at Celtic, which is set against a backdrop of increasing scepticism, mostly from English-based observers of the former Liverpool manager’s career, that the overall standard of Scottish football diminishes his achievements. Rodgers refuses to concern himself with those perceptions. Instead, he insists his focus will remain on ensuring the players currently under his command extend an era of domination which will be remembered with awe many years from now. “I’ll always have a cause for which the players stay hungry to fight for,” said Rodgers as he reflected on Sunday’s 
Betfred Cup final win over Motherwell. “So whenever we move on and pass the ball to someone else at Celtic, we’ve left a legacy that will echo way beyond our time here. For that, the actions of today mean you have to win. “I’ve told the players we are limited in our time here. This is a really special football club, so we have a responsibility to honour the great history of Celtic, what they’ve won before and add to it while we are here. “So those are the messages we give to the players emotionally, to ensure that every game, every cup final, we fight for our lives. When we are long gone, it will be spoken about – so 
create it while you’re here.” Already on a record run of 65 unbeaten domestic fixtures, which encompassed last season’s unprecedented “Invincible” treble, few would bet against Rodgers becoming the first manager to win back-to-back clean sweeps of all three pieces of major Scottish 
silverware. Even that would probably only earn him negligible credit in the eyes of those pundits who contrast Celtic’s domestic domination with their experiences in the group stage of the Champions League where they have now suffered several heavy and chastening defeats. Rodgers defiantly maintains that is a non-issue for him, instead underlining once again the high degree of personal and professional satisfaction his move to Celtic has given him. He said: “I don’t really think about that other stuff, to be honest. “This is my fifth job as a manager now. I always say happiness and energy are the two things you need. There’s always a challenge at Celtic and there always will be, whoever is in charge here. “For me, I’m very happy in my professional life. I’m developing players, I love that side of the game. I have a look at England now and I see how a manager can very quickly be out of his job and maybe not have the time to improve players. “That’s my life, that’s what I’ve always done. I enjoy that side of it but I also enjoy the pressure of managing a big club. It feels natural for me to do that and Celtic’s a huge club. “It’s one where I’m happy, I’ve got an energy. I’m 44 so I’ve got a long way to go but I don’t even think of that, as long as I’m working well with the club and the club believe in me, the supporters believe in me, then I’m obviously very happy to be here. “I tend now, with experience, to listen less and read less [about what is said about me]. Everyone has an opinion now and, for me, as long as I’m happy that’s all that matters to me. “I managed Swansea City in the Premier League, I loved it, enjoyed it, got a promotion with them, amazing. I worked at one of the great clubs in Liverpool and went closer than anyone to a title in the Premier League. “So I’ve been at that level. I’m now up here and genuinely love my life. What people think doesn’t really concern me to be honest. I know the demands of Celtic, I know the pressures and my challenge is to dominate domestically and qualify for the Champions League. “Now we’re qualifying for Champions League, we’re expected to take on these super clubs which is so, so tough. I’ll always put myself out there to challenge that and that’s how I’ve always been. I’ve always been optimistic for the club. “It’s very simple really – you keep it simple and you do the work. There’s no rocket 
science in it. You work hard, you find a cause to fight for and you ensure that everyone is pulling in the same direction for that. When I came in there was a vision that I was able to bring in, that we have to be one club in order to achieve it. So far for these first 18 months, it’s been special.”

Brendan Rodgers

Jan 2018

http://www.coachesvoice.com/green-king/
I had plenty of people tell me not to do it.

I had options to go to the Premier League. I had an option to go to China, to make an awful lot of money.

But I was a Celtic supporter. I knew the size of the club, I knew the expectations. I knew the fanbase, I knew there was an opportunity to play Champions League football. Most of all, I knew there was an opportunity to win.

I was very fortunate, really, because I knew Celtic was the place for me.

I had left Liverpool in October. It was early in the season, only eight league games in.

I took the call on the Sunday evening, after the Merseyside derby. The owners felt they needed to make a change. I accepted the decision, and from that point I was no longer the Liverpool manager.

On the Monday, I was offered another job. But I had always felt that I wanted to go in, where I could, at the beginning of a season.

On top of that, I needed the recovery. Needed to get away. Liverpool had been an emotional rollercoaster. At such a huge club, one of the great clubs of the world, even the good days are difficult. I enjoyed every single minute of it, but it had taken a toll.

“I had a week in Spain, and then I flew to Dubai. Within a couple of days, I was rushed into hospital”

I wanted to go away and reflect on my time at Liverpool, but also to regain two elements that I believe are absolutely vital to any manager: energy, and happiness.

No matter what you do in life, I feel that you need both. But, in particular for a football manager, and for me at that time, they were crucial. If you are energised and happy, you can do your job much better.

It was a case of turning the engine off on football for a little while. Spending some time with my kids, doing some travelling with my wife, and then tapping back into football in the new year.

I went to Spain for a week. Then I came back, and flew to Dubai. Within a couple of days in Dubai, I was rushed into hospital.

I went through all the tests. It was felt that I was having some issues internally, but then they got into the process of what had happened with work, with my life. They pieced it all together, and it was simply a case of my body being so tense, so tight, from all that had happened in finishing my time at Liverpool.

It reminded me of the pressures you experience, and the expectations you carry, as a manager. Especially at the bigger clubs. It reinforced for me that it was time to find a calmness, to re-energise and make sure I was genuinely ready for the next challenge.

“We were playing on astroturf, in 38 degrees, with planes flying behind the goal. All the conditions you wouldn’t want, were there”

It wasn’t just about the next club, though, It was about the right club.

What is vitally important in your next job, I believe, is that you win. And that you win in the best way you can.

I saw that in Celtic. I saw the opportunity to win, but a chance to bring my ideas into another iconic club. There would still be big pressure: 60-odd thousand fans every other week, and a worldwide fanbase.

The club was in a winning cycle, I knew that. But my idea was to make them win better. To bring in an idea and a philosophy of football that excited the supporters, regenerated the club and its enthusiasm.

The idea wasn’t that we would start with defeat in Gibraltar.

I’d not long come in to work with the players. I had really enjoyed pre-season, but this – a Champions League qualifier against Lincoln Red Imps – was going to be my first real chance to see them under pressure.

We were playing on an astroturf pitch, where you very rarely get a good game of football. It was 38 degrees.

Within 100 yards to our right, there was the Rock of Gibraltar. Within 1,000 yards to our left, we had Monarch Airlines flying behind the goal. All the conditions you wouldn’t want for your first game, were there.

And we lost 1-0. That can happen in football. It can happen.

I did a press conference the very next morning, in which I said we would win the second leg. But I could see, even in a game such as this, that there was cause for concern in how the players were dealing with those pressure moments.

“In Glasgow, only one team can be doing well. You’ve got to make sure that’s you”

In modern football, managers get virtually no time. Your first steps are vitally important, and I knew we had to produce in the players a mental fitness that would get us into the Champions League. We didn’t have time to work with the football idea.

I had to find a mindset to get us through, and thankfully we did that. It was great for the club to be back in the Champions League again, to bring the big nights to Celtic Park.

I’ve managed in a number of derbies. They’re all different in their way, but in Glasgow it’s something else. There is something special about Celtic-Rangers. The intensity, the rivalry. It is a city divided between green and blue.

Only one team can be doing well, and you’ve got to make sure it’s you.

My first Old Firm game was the first meeting of Celtic and Rangers at Parkhead for four years. Joey Barton had joined Rangers, so he added another interesting dynamic to an already huge game. But we were desperate to win for the supporters, and to keep that early-season momentum going.

To win, and to win 5-1, was obviously very special. It was an important game, absolutely massive, and put us on a great high.

“If we’re going to be the team we want to be, this can’t happen again. We were going to have to learn”

If, on that Saturday evening, you had asked us to name the last place on earth we would want to have to play on the Tuesday, we would have said the Nou Camp in Barcelona.

Messi. Suarez. Neymar. And the pitch is huge.

The energy that had been taken out of us on the Saturday had a huge impact on the Tuesday night. And, you know, I think I could sense there was a little bit of fear in the team, perhaps naturally, because of the players they were up against.

That would change as the season went on.

We didn’t start the game well, that was for sure. Messi scored early, but we fought back well and missed a penalty that would have drawn us level. They got the second before half-time, but then fatigue set in after the break and it ended up 7-0.

You come off after seven, and it’s not nice. We spoke about it afterwards, though, in the changing room. If we’re going to be the team we want to be, this can’t happen again. We were going to have to learn.

It ended up being an incredible season. Momentum grew, we developed how we played, and time on the training field was vital. We grew in confidence, enjoyed the way we were working and got some really big performances in big games.

To go through the whole domestic season unbeaten was truly memorable.

Remember, too, that five of the six games we played after our Champions League fixtures were away from home. No matter who you play, those can be banana skins.

But the players were focused, concentrated, and their desire to succeed was immense. Thirty-four league wins was incredible, although we conceded late equalisers in all four of the games we drew. Arguably, we should have won them, too.

Where can we go from that? In terms of achievement, it’s difficult. Domestically, we can’t improve on much – but we will do our very best to win every game and every competition. In Europe, we want to be more consistent, and of course become regulars in the Champions League.

And I just want to embrace it all. To feel happiness at being at such an iconic club.

There’s pressure there. It’s not going away. But you want the pressure. If you want to be successful, it’s always there.

Your job is to redirect the flow.

Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers: The secret of Celtic’s success

STEPHEN HALLIDAY
Published: 22:32 Monday 03 December 2018
http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Rodgers%2C+Brendan+-+Misc+Articles+%281%29
While the rest of Scottish football might regard a varied diet of trophy winners as evidence of healthy competition, Brendan Rodgers’ hunger for an unchanged menu shows no sign of abating.

The Celtic manager’s astonishing record in domestic competition now includes 22 consecutive cup tie victories within the sequence of seven successive trophy triumphs which continued with Sunday’s 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup final.

It’s also the first time in 30 years that a club have lifted the League Cup three seasons in a row (Rangers under Graeme Souness were the last to do so) as Celtic savour the most sustained bout of silverware collection in their history.

“Somebody said to me the other day that before we came to Celtic, six different teams had won the League Cup in the previous six seasons up here,” said Rodgers as he reflected on his latest success. It was an observation delivered in an almost disapproving tone, as if the 45-year-old Northern Irishman simply cannot comprehend the concept of resting on laurels.

Rodgers has always viewed complacency as big a threat to Celtic’s dominance as any of the rivals they face on the pitch. It’s why he believes his motivational skills are as important as any coaching ability and tactical nous in ensuring the Celtic players never slip from the high standards set since the summer of 2016.

“You have to think of that emotional hook for players all the time,” added Rodgers. “It’s about trying to find what drives each individual on. You have to set a standard in training first of all, that is important.

“From the first day I came in, the environment there dictates what you bring onto the field. You can’t get lazy. It is about the mentality. It is about creating an environment where they know they can’t have a lazy day. We will shape them, try to make them better, but they need to be ready to win.

“They are in a great moment now. It is not easy, you have to work at it. But we are in an exciting period at the club and however long we are all here, we want to look back on it and say it is a really successful time.

“So we don’t stop. To do that, we have to work. Thankfully, our focus every day, the work we put into preparing the team, helps the players see we are not having a lazy day as staff. That allows them to focus on performing well. They accept that. Now they have rhythm with winning and know what it takes to win. They went to Hampden on Sunday with a good feeling. They have the heart for it, but they also have the talent for it.”

While the core of Celtic’s side has remained fairly constant throughout the current run of trophy triumphs, the steady introduction of fresher faces helps stave of any threat of stagnation at the Scottish champions. Four players – Scott Bain, Filip Benkovic, Odsonne Edouard and goalscorer Ryan Christie – all experienced their first cup final win with Celtic on Sunday.

“I think having youth helps us,” added Rodgers. “I think we are one of the three youngest teams in the Premiership. So, when you have that hunger and will and desire in there and you can shape that, it is 
exciting. You mix some experienced ones around about it and they are revitalised. They all want to win. But, of course, we want to win in the best way that we can. It is great to see the likes of Ryan developing, while Benkovic is just 21 and he has a great feeling as well about his time with Celtic.”

On-loan Leicester City player Benkovic has formed a solid central defensive partnership with Dedryck Boyata who bravely played on at Hampden on Sunday after being cut and bloodied in the sickening head clash which saw Aberdeen winger Gary Mackay-Steven taken to hospital.

Boyata set up the winning goal for Christie before eventually being forced off by a hamstring injury. Rodgers is full of praise for the 
Belgian international who sat out several games earlier in the season after a proposed move to Fulham was blocked by Celtic. “I was very proud of Dedryck on Sunday,” said Rodgers. “It was a tough summer for him in every way. But it is really satisfying to see how he has got over that and how he has performed. Since he had that little episode, he has been absolutely brilliant for us.
“That partnership with Benkovic has been very good. He gives everything to the cause. He is super professional. He has played a lot of games now for the No 1-ranked team in world football, Belgium. That really shows where has come from to where he is at. It is a big credit to him.

“He is in the last year of his contract with us but I am quite relaxed on it. He probably has to look at every option possible. He has created a market for himself now because of how he has performed which is great for him. Careers are short.

“There has been no lack of commitment from him since the summer as you have seen. But as a professional player he has every right to wait and see what happens. I can assure everyone that doesn’t take away his commitment to what we’re doing. The next contract will probably be the last big one of his career and he just has to make sure it’s the right one.”r

Gordon Strachan: I thought Brendan Rodgers would leave Celtic for a bigger club than Leicester

Remaining Time -1:36
Published: 13:59 Tuesday 26 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/gordon-strachan-i-thought-brendan-rodgers-would-leave-celtic-for-a-bigger-club-than-leicester-1-4879561
I’m disappointed Brendan has left Celtic for Leicester – I would’ve wanted him to at least have stayed until the end of the season.

I thought Brendan would wait a wee while longer, and get a club somewhere around the world that guarantees you Champions League football.
Gordon Strachan has given his taken on the Brendan Rodgers situation. Picture: SNS Group
Gordon Strachan has given his taken on the Brendan Rodgers situation. Picture: SNS Group

But I understand that he, and the club, have probably made a decision to remove the uncertainty from the situation. The club can now move forward.

Let’s get one thing clear: Celtic are a giant club. One of the biggest in the world. Far bigger than Leicester. But that’s not the comparison – the league in England is far advanced of Scotland’s that it’s untrue.

There’s a point when you’re in Scotland when you say ‘I’m at a huge club here, but is it enough?’ Was the league still testing Brendan? It did for the first season or two, because it was fresh, but it mightn’t have felt fresh anymore.

Where would he go with them next season? His best team was probably in his first season.

Small things like having to play on three plastic pitches every season, which rattles him, or the fact that you can’t progress in the Champions League – Europe has probably been the one disappointment for Brendan at Celtic but, without spending £150 million, I don’t know what more he and his coaching team could do.

You also have to consider the madness of being an Old Firm manager, where you spend 75 per cent of your time answering questions about things that have nothing to do with football, which can be draining.

It takes away from the beauty of the game.

It’s a blow to the club, but they’ve lost managers before and dealt with it. There’ll be a mad rush around the world now, of people wanting to apply to work at Celtic.

The people behind the scenes at the club have seen it all before. They’re so good at their job, it’s like working with chess players. They can see problems coming, they’ll have prepared for this – they would’ve known it was coming.

There’ll be a lot of great managers they talk to. They’ve hired people before with links to the club, but also without links – my only link to Celtic was getting booed every time I played there with Aberdeen.

The next appointment will say a lot about how Celtic see themselves. Do they keep playing the same way that Brendan had them? Which might be a good idea.
What does the future hold for Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers. Picture: SNS/Alan Harvey
Scottish Football Live: Brendan Rodgers latest | Neil Lennon set for Parkhead talks | Celtic and Rangers battle for starlet | Ex-Ibrox star among favourites for Celtic role

They have the means to buy players better than the rest of the division, so it’s a great job.

Me? No, no, no, no. If you’ve had such a good time at a club, like I did at Celtic, I don’t think I could re-trace my steps. Unless that’s the only place you’ve felt alive and it’s your club.

Others have done it, but I’m onto different things now.

And I think I would’ve got a whisper of it, as I talk to Peter and Dermot quite often. It might have come up. But they only talk to me about golf.

• Gordon Strachan was speaking exclusively to Paddy Power News. To read more, visit news.paddypower.com

Why Neil Lennon’s return to Celtic is both a risk and a safe bet

Remaining Time -1:55
Patrick McPartlin
Published: 12:31 Tuesday 26 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/why-neil-lennon-s-return-to-celtic-is-both-a-risk-and-a-safe-bet-1-4879478Bringing in Neil Lennon on a short-term basis makes sense for Celtic but the move isn’t without risk for both parties, writes Patrick McPartlin

It’s been fewer than 30 days since Neil Lennon and Hibs went their separate ways, and a little over ten days since the newly unemployed Northern Irishman voiced his fancy for a tilt at a management job in Europe.
Neil Lennon directs his Hibs players during the 2-0 win over Celtic in December 2018 with Brendan Rodgers watching on in the background. Picture: SNS Group
Neil Lennon directs his Hibs players during the 2-0 win over Celtic in December 2018 with Brendan Rodgers watching on in the background. Picture: SNS Group

Yet today dawned with the 47-year-old being lined up for a surprise return to the club he represented as a player and manager for more than a decade between 2000 and 2014.

Lennon is understood to have cancelled plans to fly out to the Middle East on punditry business, fuelling rumours that a return is imminent. Hoops coach John Kennedy is expected to take charge of Celtic for their trip to Tynecastle on Ladbrokes Premiership duty on Wednesday night, potentially handing Lennon a return to the dugout just in time for a William Hill Scottish Cup quarter-final against Hibs at Easter Road.

In today’s Scotsman, Lennon is quoted as saying it wouldn’t be a “huge surprise” if Hibs beat Celtic. Facing his last club in his first match in charge is one thing; potentially losing to his former employers and former players on their own turf, and ending the chances of a third consecutive treble, is another story entirely.

In many ways, however, Lennon returning to Celtic – even for a short period – makes perfect sense for both individual and club.

He knows the set-up at Parkhead, he’s worked under it before, he is only too aware of what’s expected of him, and he has a good relationship with the Hoops hierarchy. He’s also managed them in Europe, including masterminding a 2-1 victory over Barcelona.

His record in Europe as Celtic boss is decent: 15 wins from 36 matches. Granted, the majority came in qualifiers against teams like Cliftonville and HJK Helsinki, but there were also wins against Ajax and Braga as well as Barca.

It could be argued his performances in Europe were all the more impressive with fewer resources than those enjoyed by Rodgers.

Assuming he does return to Celtic Park, Lennon will inherit a squad sitting eight points clear at the top of the league, with one domestic trophy in the bag and another – the Scottish Cup – within touching distance. The club’s exit from the Europa League means the former Hoops midfielder can focus on the league and cup with no other distractions. If Lennon plans to take the club on an interim basis until the summer then it’s something of a free hit – Rodgers has already done most of the hard work this term, and it may very well boost his chances of a new permanent post if he does well – either at Celtic or elsewhere.

Also to Lennon’s advantage is the presence of characters such as Scott Brown, James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney; players who “get” Celtic, and can make the 47-year-old’s life easier. Much is made of Steven Naismith pulling the strings for Hearts as a de facto player-manager – but Brown is very good at doing the same for Celtic, which could also give Lennon an easier ride.

He knows the lie of the land, too, having coached Hibs through the last season and a half in the Scottish Premiership. He knows the other teams, and where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

The risk for Lennon is that things don’t go according to plan.
Motherwell’s Jake Hastie has attracted interest from Celtic and Rangers. Picture: SNS/Craig Foy
Celtic and Rangers in battle for Mothewell starlet

The former Bolton boss may also have his work cut out in winning over some sections of the Celtic support. Regardless of the facts surrounding his departure from Easter Road, it’s not unthinkable that a percentage of the Celtic support will assume he was sacked, with Hibs languishing in eighth despite having been second in the early stages of the campaign.

Details of his Hibs exit aside, Lennon will have the unenviable task of following a man who delivered an historic double treble and was closing in on a third.

Rodgers was praised by Peter Lawwell for winning the first treble with “Ronny Deila’s team”. It’s unlikely Lenny will be afforded the same treatment if he leads Celtic to a third treble with the former Liverpool manager’s squad.

He also runs the risk of getting less leeway. Due to his success in his first spell at Parkhead – and also because of the standards set under Rodgers – fans won’t accept anything less than the best.

Completing a third treble won’t do Lennon’s future employment prospects any harm at all, but he’ll have to hit the ground running in yhis second spell at Celtic – for the club and for himself.

6 reasons why Brendan Rodgers would want to leave Celtic for Leicester City

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Joel Sked
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/6-reasons-why-brendan-rodgers-would-want-to-leave-celtic-for-leicester-city-1-4879709
Celtic fans are right to be surprised that Brendan Rodgers is on the verge of moving to Leicester City at this stage in the season. Joel Sked looks at the reasons why the Northern Irishman may want to swap Scotland for the Premier League.

• READ MORE: Celtic ‘very reluctantly’ give Brendan Rodgers permission to speak to Leicester City
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers nears move to Leicester City. Picture: SNS/Rob Casey
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers nears move to Leicester City. Picture: SNS/Rob Casey

Hit his ceiling

Celtic were giving a good account of themselves in Valencia last Thursday. A goal didn’t look too far away and with that they would have been perfectly placed to produce one of their most memorable away performances in Europe, overturning a 2-0 deficit from the first leg at Celtic Park.

Then, moments after a promising attack came to nothing, the Scottish champions were down to ten men, Jeremy Toljan picking up his second yellow card of the first half.

With his exit from the pitch Celtic’s hopes of progression from the last-32 of the Europa League all but evaporated.

Rodgers has conquered Scottish domestic football. An unbeaten season, two league titles, in pole position to add a third, every domestic trophy won, 24 domestic cup games won in a row. Europe was the final frontier.

Following the Lincoln Red Imps debacle Celtic have reached the Champions League group stages twice and the round of 32 in Europe’s secondary competition on two occasions. But that is as far as they have got with few signs of troubling the latter rounds.

Is the domestic dominance enough to satisfy his ambition? Does he feel that the club match his ambition in Europe? The answer to both is much closer to no than it is to a yes.

• READ MORE: Why Neil Lennon’s return to Celtic is both a risk and a safe bet

Board clash

In November 2017 Celtic chief Pater Lawwell said he wouldn’t swap Brendan Rodgers for any other manager in the world. It is a view likely held by Celtic fans at the time. The Northern Irishman could do little wrong.

Fast forward to the summer of 2018 and a rift emerges in public.
Craig Levein believes Brendan Rodgers has been good for Scottish football
Hearts boss Craig Levein praises Brendan Rodgers ahead of move from Celtic to Leicester

“Divisions between the pair entered the public domain during a summer of discontent when Rodgers made his feelings plain, and often, that the transfer activity conducted then had left his squad weakened as targets – notably John McGinn – were missed,” Andrew Smith wrote in The Scotsman.

The Celtic boss admitted at the club’s AGM in November that he was “disappointed” with the recruitment. As well as missing out on McGinn, the club failed to strengthen the centre of defence.

It led to the situation where Dedryck Boyata pulled out of a crucial Champions League qualifier to try and push through a move to the Premier League and Rodgers was left to play Jack Hendry against AEK Athens. Hendry did not have a good game as the team dropped into the Europa League qualifiers.

Celtic were left scrambling around at the end of the transfer window.

• READ MORE: ‘It stinks’ – Chris Sutton blasts Brendan Rodgers over timing of Celtic exit

January business

January didn’t indicate that there was long-term planning under Rodgers.

Short-term, quick fixes were signed in the shape of Oliver Burke, Timothy Weah and Jeremy Toljan. All three are fine young players but ones who had little positive influence where it mattered most, on the European stage.

However, it was another recruit, a permanent one at that, which was most enlightening.

Ukrainian international Maryan Shved was signed on a four-and-a-half-year deal and loaned back to Karpaty Lviv.

Rodgers’ comments prior to the confirmation of the signing were interesting and spoke of a manager not completely involved with the club’s recruitment strategy.

“I can’t say I know a great deal about him but what I have seen he is a talent and something that will probably benefit the club in the future,” he said.

“We’ve got about a million wingers and don’t need another one but he’s a talent and in the summer we’ll probably lose wingers and he’ll look to come in. It’s an opportunity for the club to sign a young talented player but not one that will probably help us now.”

Fear of missing out

Rodgers has been linked with a number of jobs since taking over at Celtic Park, however tenuously. The only offer he has confirmed has been a lucrative one in China.

Despite the prospect of a huge payday it is one that will unlikely have appealed to the 46-year-old.

Meanwhile, Celtic supporters were dreaming of Rodgers leading the club to ‘10 in a row’. Such an achievement would see Rodgers go down in the Parkhead history books for eternity.

It is only natural he has ambitions of managing in the Premier League again, especially with the way his Liverpool career came to an end.

The timing is very unwelcoming with the idea of taking over at Leicester in the summer much more favourable. Yet, if Rodgers feels this is his big chance to make the move back south he has to trust his gut and strike.

Timing is huge in football. If he rejects it and nothing emerges in the summer he’d still be at Celtic but with regrets and it could go stale.

Money

Figures published by Sporting Intelligence, in their annual Global Sports Salaries Survey show that Leicester City pay an average annual salary of £2,710,710 per player. It dwarves Celtic’s £865,614.

In addition to paying handsomely in wages, Leicester’s outlay in the transfer market over the last four seasons has surpassed £300million.

In financial terms, Rodgers isn’t going from minor league to major league. He is going from clearing the pitch of dog muck before play can get started to major league.

He will be operating in a different stratosphere. Celtic fans can’t expect a person with their manager’s ambition to be content in Scotland when he’ll want to get back to working with players of the calibre of Luis Suarez who he managed at Liverpool and helped earn a move to Barcelona.

• READ MORE: Neil Lennon and Steve Clarke joint favourites to be Celtic manager next season

New project

“The job at Leicester is develop a very talented young squad, to transition to a new playing identity, to show a bit of (cup) winning ambition – and to connect with a fanbase that loves to see its team having a go.

“Rodgers would be ideal.”

Those were the words of Jonathan Northcroft, Sunday Times football correspondent and the author of Fearless: The Amazing Underdog Story of Leicester City, the Greatest Miracle in Sports History.

After the relative failures of Craig Shakespeare and Claude Puel following that famous season under Claudio Ranieri when they won the Premier League, the club, under the ownership of King Power International Group, want to build a new Leicester. A younger, more vibrant, progressive, outwardly team.

Such a project is, as Northcroft said, “ideal” for Rodgers. He will see the chance to mould a team and club in his vision as he has done with Celtic. Only he is doing it in the Premier League where success brings grander rewards and another chance with an elite club.

And… Referees?

This had to be included. There was one – possibly more – supporter on social media who blamed Rodgers’ decision to seek a move to the Premier League on the referees in Scotland.

“The referee’s (sic) have done this, sick and tired of the cheating up here,” read one tweet.

It would be quite the story if Rodgers admitted that the reason behind his defection was because of Scottish referees. Imagine the reaction. Just imagine.

However, someone as respected as the Northern Irishman is unlikely to use referees and their “cheating” as the explanation for leaving the soon-to-be champions. The team that is set to make it EIGHT league titles won in a row and potentially NINE domestic trophies in succession.

‘It stinks’ – Chris Sutton blasts Brendan Rodgers over timing of Celtic exit

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Joel Sked
Email
Published: 12:23 Tuesday 26 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/it-stinks-chris-sutton-blasts-brendan-rodgers-over-timing-of-celtic-exit-1-4879472
Ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton has hit out at Brendan Rodgers as the Parkhead boss nears a move to Leicester City.

The Northern Irishman has been given permission by Celtic to speak to the Premier League side after he made it clear he was interested in what the Foxes had to stay.

The club cancelled their pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Hearts.

It has been reported that Neil Lennon, who has been installed among the favourites to be in charge next season, will be return to Celtic Park in an interim capacity as the league leaders chase a treble treble. They face Hibs at the weekend in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.

Sutton blasted Rodgers for the timing of his request to open talks with Leicester.

“Quite frankly it stinks,” he told BT Sport. “The timing of it stinks and he’s going to a club who are playing for absolutely nothing, they are not going to get relegated, not going to get into Europe.

“I am really disappointed and I think there’s a lot of Celtic fans out there as well who will feel let down. This was the job which Brendan said was his dream job. Why is he going now to a club who have nothing to play for?

“It looks like Neil Lennon will get the opportunity and I wish him well.

“In terms of how Brendan has left the club, I think he has left the club in a tough situation. Short-term loans, losing the centre-back pairing and the right-back in the summer, there is a big overhaul which needs doing.

“But at the moment it is about the here and now. Domestically, Brendan, clean sweep been absolutely fantastic. Europe has been too tough for Brendan as it has been for a lot of Celtic managers.

“It has been very negative of late, there has been a breakdown in the relationship with Peter Lawell. Brendan threw him under the bus earlier in the season and from that moment you are thinking ‘this isn’t going to last’.

“Bottom line, the timing of this absolutely stinks. Brendan ROdgers is a top coach and I certainly wish him well, but come on Brendan, the timing, it’s poor.”

‘Celtic will always be my club’ – Brendan Rodgers confirmed as new Leicester City boss

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Patrick McPartlin
Published: 18:55 Tuesday 26 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/celtic-will-always-be-my-club-brendan-rodgers-confirmed-as-new-leicester-city-boss-1-4879970
Brendan Rodgers has been named the new manager of Leicester City, with Celtic confirming his departure.

A statement posted on the club’s website read: “This is an opportunity which Brendan wished to take, with Leicester wishing to make this appointment immediately, and while we are extremely disappointed to be losing him as manager, particularly at this time, we sincerely wish Brendan and his family all the very best for the future.”
Brendan Rodgers applauds the Celtic fans after his final match in charge. Picture: SNS Group
Brendan Rodgers applauds the Celtic fans after his final match in charge. Picture: SNS Group

Neil Lennon, the former Celtic midfielder and head coach between 2010 and 2014, will take charge of the side on an interim basis until the end of the season.

The Northern Irishman has signed a deal until June 2022 at the King Power Stadium, and will take charge of the team for the first time on Sunday, when the Foxes travel to Watford.

Speaking after his unveiling by Leicester, Rodgers said: “I’m very privileged and honoured to be here as Leicester City manager and I’ll give my life to make the supporters proud of their club.

“Together, we’ll be stronger and I’m looking forward to working with the players, staff and supporters to make the right steps forward.”

Leicester vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha added: “I’m absolutely delighted to bring a manager of Brendan’s calibre to Leicester City and I look forward to seeing what he, our talented, young squad and our dedicated, skilled team of staff can achieve together.”

Describing it as a “real honour” to have managed Celtic, Rodgers told Celtic’s website: “I have been a Celtic supporter all my life and the reason I came to Glasgow was to work for the club I had such love and affection for.

“From the moment I walked into Celtic Park I have been living my dream and, together with the players, staff and supporters, we have been on an amazing journey, which I will never forget.

“From the day I arrived I have given my all to the role of Celtic manager. I would like to sincerely thank the Board at Celtic for giving me the opportunity to manage Celtic in the first place and for the support they have given me throughout my time as manager.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Peter, Ian, Dermot and the rest of the Celtic Board, and together we have done everything we could to bring success to our supporters.

“I want to make a special mention to the Celtic players. They were an absolute pleasure to work with and I want to thank them all for the commitment and positivity they gave to my coaching philosophy each and every day. Every one of them will be a friend for life.

“Celtic will always be my club and I wish everyone connected to Celtic every success in the future.”
Brendan Rodgers with the Scottish League Cup, Scottish Premiership trophy and the Scottish Cup. Picture: SNS Group
Andrew Smith: How will Brendan Rodgers be regarded in the pantheon of Celtic managers?

Chief executive Peter Lawwell said: “Brendan is a football manager of the highest quality and we are very disappointed to see him leave the club. He gave us so much and has created so many wonderful memories for the club and our supporters. His achievements are historic.

“When we appointed Brendan we knew we were bringing someone of the highest standard to Celtic. He has dominated Scottish football and ensured that Celtic has enjoyed unprecedented domestic success.

“I would personally like to thank Brendan for all he has given to the club. He has been a tremendous ambassador for Celtic and I wish him every success for the future.”

Chairman Ian Bankier added: “We were delighted to bring such a talented manager to Celtic and are pleased to have worked with Brendan for nearly three years.

“He, our backroom staff and our players have delivered phenomenal success to the Club and he leaves a fantastic legacy which we will always cherish.”

Aidan Smith: Brendan Rodgers rather liked telling us what we couldn’t see

Brendan Rodgers is all smiles on the bench during the Europa League tie with RB Leipzig. Picture: Jens Meyer/AP
Brendan Rodgers is all smiles on the bench during the Europa League tie with RB Leipzig. Picture: Jens Meyer/AP
Aidan Smith
Published: 06:00 Wednesday 27 February 2019
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/aidan-smith-brendan-rodgers-rather-liked-telling-us-what-we-couldn-t-see-1-4880052It is two years, almost to the day, since Brendan Rodgers pronounced. St Mirren, he said, were the best Scottish team he’d encountered in his maiden 
season here.

What, the lowly Buddies, almost the length of two whole divisions below Rodgers’ men at the time of the sides’ meeting in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup? The same St Mirren, in serious relegation bother in the Championship, had put up the most impressive show against Celtic who were over the hill and far away in the Premiership, 27 points ahead?

“Ouch,” went Mark Warburton, late of Rangers, walloped 5-1 by Celtic in a return to the top flight garlanded by that “Going for 55” banner which Warbs said recently had made him cringe. With good reason, as it turned out.

“Ouch,” went Derek McInnes whose Aberdeen had been the best-of-the-rest during Rangers’ absence and prior to Rodgers’ arrival, but who’d palpably failed to turn up for the League Cup final earlier that season.

Rodgers didn’t get into direct comparisons, rating the performances of St Mirren’s humble midfield against the braggadocio which was all that had seemed to be on offer from Ibrox statement signing Joey Barton. But he praised the work being done by Paisley boss Jack Ross, adding: “They are the best team we have played domestically, without any shadow of a doubt.”

Was Rodgers really having a dig at the so-called competition? That was how his remarks were interpreted. Post-match press conferences are fairly predictable affairs, taking place quickly and sometimes curtly in airless rooms. Journalists ask the questions but managers like to keep control of the agenda. In this, they can be playful, possibly because they’re bored. They can be contrary, even perverse, if the result has been bad, putting them under pressure. Rodgers was having no such problems; his reign was already serene. His toothy smile had been stitched into a huge flag unfurled at every home game. Perhaps he was at the wind-up but he was also anointing Ross. This was the power of Brendan, his dazzling aura.

A few months later he repeated the trick. Kilmarnock were having a torrid time and their manager Lee McCulloch couldn’t find three points anywhere. After Celtic’s routine win, when Rodgers probably thought he was in for some 
routine questions, he announced that before he got down to what had happened in the match he wanted to talk about McCulloch, an “outstanding manager” who despite recent hardships had “no need to worry”. Unfortunately for McCulloch, this seal of approval from the stellar coach – still unbeaten domestically and heading out into the uncharted, thrilling waters of back-to-back trebles – couldn’t save him from the sack a few defeats 
later.

Rodgers liked to pronounce. To be fair, sometimes he simply spoke, but because of who he was, where he’d been in football and indeed where he was trying to take Celtic, his remarks would be written up as sacred oaths. This is what happens to some Parkhead managers, and especially when they’re zeroing in on treble trebles. Nevertheless, the impression remains that Rodgers rather liked telling us something we didn’t know or couldn’t see with our own eyes, and I suppose, who in his position wouldn’t?

The impression he will leave in Celtic hearts and minds at the timing of his departure isn’t so clear right now. Great, if the club go on and complete the treble treble and beyond that ten-in-a-row. But what if they don’t?

The faithful will try and remember what life was like in the pre-Rodgers era and wonder how it will turn now. Celtic couldn’t risk getting reacquainted with Rangers with Ronny Deila in charge, while Neil Lennon had an unfortunate habit of faltering in knockout competition. Under Rodgers, though, they won every cup tie and just about every time Rangers came back for another go at them, insisting, “This time we really mean it”, the rivals were obliterated.

Yet Rodgers has been damned with faint praise and occasionally not praised at all. As Celtic began to become all-conquering, an English-based newspaper despatched a journalist up to Scotland to report on the football scene. His conclusion, which made scant acknowledgement of Celtic’s achievement in staying unbeaten, was that this was the most uncompetitive league in the world.

No team which wins so relentlessly, no matter their financial advantage and their failings on the bigger European stage, deserve such churlishness. The treble treble can be Rodgers’ legacy, save for the home stretch having to be tied up by someone else. But Celtic be warned: there are still cup ties to be played, starting this Saturday at Hibernian where Rodgers was never quite able to flash his victory grin – and who knows, next time Rangers may 
really, really mean it.

• Celtic Football Club Statement: Brendan Rodgers joins Leicester City
By: Newsroom Staff on 26 Feb, 2019 19:03
http://www.celticfc.net/news/15815• CELTIC Football Club today announced that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will be leaving the Club to join Leicester City FC. This is an opportunity which Brendan wished to take, with Leicester wishing to make this appointment immediately, and while we are extremely disappointed to be losing him as manager, particularly at this time, we sincerely wish Brendan and his family all the very best for the future.
Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: “Brendan is a football manager of the highest quality and we are very disappointed to see him leave the Club. This is an opportunity he wished to pursue and that is something we have to respect.
“He gave the Club so much and has created so many wonderful memories for the Club and our supporters. His achievements are historic.
“When we appointed Brendan we knew we were bringing someone of the highest standard to Celtic. He has dominated Scottish football and ensured that Celtic has enjoyed unprecedented domestic success.
“I would personally like to thank Brendan for all he has given to the Club. He has been a tremendous ambassador for Celtic and I wish him every success for the future.”
Celtic Chairman Ian Bankier said: “Of course we are hugely disappointed to be losing a manager who has made such a fantastic contribution to the Club, and while we have done everything to keep him at Celtic, this is an opportunity within the English Premier League which he wanted to take.
“We were delighted to bring such a talented manager to Celtic and are pleased to have worked with Brendan for nearly three years. He, our backroom staff and our players have delivered phenomenal success to the Club and he leaves a fantastic legacy which we will always cherish.”
Brendan Rodgers commented: “It has been a real honour to serve the Club and its supporters across the past three seasons. I have been a Celtic supporter all my life and the reason I came to Glasgow was to work for the Club I had such love and affection for.
“From the moment I walked into Celtic Park I have been living my dream and, together with the players, staff and supporters, we have been on an amazing journey, which I will never forget.
“To be welcomed in the way I was on my first day at Celtic Park is something I will always treasure. From that day I have given my all to the role of Celtic manager. I would like to sincerely thank the Board at Celtic for giving me the opportunity to manage Celtic in the first place and for the support they have given me throughout my time as manager.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Peter, Ian, Dermot and the rest of the Celtic Board, and together we have done everything we could to bring success to our supporters.
“I want to make a special mention to the Celtic players. They were an absolute pleasure to work with and I want to thank them all for the commitment and positivity they gave to my coaching philosophy each and every day. Every one of them will be a friend for life.
“Celtic is in great hands for the future and I am sure the Club is in a wonderful position to continue to dominate Scottish football and do well in Europe, I know that will be the aim of everyone at the Club.
“Celtic will always be my Club and I wish everyone connected to Celtic – the Board of Directors, the staff and, of course, the Celtic supporters – every success in the future.”

From Celtic to Leicester is undoubtedly a step down…

John Nicholson

From Celtic to Leicester is undoubtedly a step down…

Date published: Monday 4th March 2019 9:51

Usually, praising Scottish football comes second only to praising the women’s game in attracting some of the most idiotic ill-informed responses the internet has to offer, as I’m sure some of the comments provoked by this piece shall rather deliciously prove.

It has long seemed to me that there is a deep insecurity in some quarters that fears Scotland being any good at football, or indeed at anything else. Fears the country’s self-confidence and broadly left-leaning consensus. Is intimidated by its strong sense of self and of identity and does not fully appreciate that it is not some sort of vassal state forever on bended knee to the south. It is a country with its own legislative, legal and education system and in Revenue Scotland (of which my brother happens to be Chair) its own body for the administration and collection of devolved taxes.

It is a country currently with lower unemployment than England, but some will forever paint Scotland as a band of gaunt heroin-addicted wastrels, the hive mind being reluctant to change its default settings.

So I knew when Brendan Rodgers made his – some might say – unseemly, poorly-judged and extremely undiplomatic and speedy southerly journey to Leicester City, as much as it was a cue for some pointless Celtic tribalism, it was inevitably also a cue for the anti-Alba types to say that he has left the wilderness to join civilisation. Left a comedy league to join the Big League.

There is a patronisation of Scottish football borne out of ignorance of the game here and, hand in hand with that, an equally unjustified aggrandisation of the quality of the Premier League’s entertainment.

I’d wager if I showed Sunday’s Watford v Leicester game to such blinkered Premier League fans and told them it was Aberdeen v Hamilton, they’d have said it was typically boring and poor quality Scottish football, with just a few moments of skill. Daniel Harris in the Guardian summed it up as ‘Watford were organised, doughty, and found that extra little bit at either end of the game. Leicester were poor’.

But if I showed them Aberdeen v Hamilton – the highlights are here…

…and told them it was Watford v Leicester, they’d think it the better, more exciting game and with a spectacular opening goal that the Scottish Premiership could never muster. That’s because when it comes to assessing the Premier League’s entertainment value, marketing has replaced understanding.

But the truth is that the Premier League does not offer more fun than the Premiership. That’s not to say the Premier League offers none, it clearly does. But those 14 teams below the top six – most of whom, let’s face it, after a few seasons in the league don’t really even know why they exist anymore, except to earn money in order to keep on existing in their existential nightmare, one that they can only be woken from by the sweet bliss of relegation – can play some very dull games. Premier entertainment, it often ain’t.

For all that Celtic dominate in every way at the moment, taking the league’s fixtures as a whole – and not just those involving Celtic – they are usually, though obviously not absolutely always, more enjoyable than the majority of Premier League games. And that’s what counts: enjoyment. They are consistently more unpredictable and far, far more competitive. Plus, there is no existential crisis up here. There is much less angst at overpaid players under-performing, because most players outside of the Old Firm (and even some of them) are paid ‘normal’ wages. Kilmarnock’s average pay isn’t much over £1000 per week and they’ve been great to watch all season. We don’t have the same discontent with the game here and we’re happier for it. It’s also worth noting that we tend to be far more cosmopolitan in outlook by being exposed to both the Scottish game and the English, and knowing about each. So Hibernian fans, for example, will know what is happening at, say, Chelsea, while Chelsea fans won’t typically know much about Hibs..

Stripping out the tribal nonsense of the few, as evidenced with that nonsensical Celtic banner, Rodgers moving from Celtic to Leicester City is without doubt and quite objectively a step down from one of the greatest jobs in world football. That’s not to say Leicester City are not a fine club; I’ve always really liked them, going back to the days of Frank Worthington and Keith Weller’s superbly baggy white leggings.

And yes, the title win was the most thrillingly brilliant thing that will likely ever happen while the Premier League is in existence (which hopefully will not be for much longer) and indeed was the sort of sudden ascent to greatness that used to happen far more often when football was played on a far more democratic and even playing field.

But all the same, Leicester are simply less of a national, European or global power than Celtic. Partly this is because economics have meant the west of Scotland and Ireland has exported a lot of people to all corners of the globe. Go to Boston, Mass. and try to find any Leicester fans and you’ll struggle, but Celtic fans are everywhere and many will tell you with glassy eyes that Caledonia’s been everything they ever had. As manager, you are the figurehead at the prow of that huge, worldwide ship in a way that will never happen at Leicester City.

Celtic’s history of silverware in Scotland is incomparable to Leicester’s in England. And while it is no longer one of Europe’s powerhouse leagues, for almost the entirety of its history, the Scottish top flight absolutely was. That sort of history does not evaporate in the hot flames of new money.

I note that many supporting Brendan’s move were quick to proffer the fact that he will have more money to spend and will doubtless be paid more. Ah yes. Money. It’s always about money is the Premier League. That’s its exceptionally shallow USP of course, and if there’s one thing Scottish football isn’t, it’s shallow. Scotland’s instinct isn’t to kowtow to the monied and powerful, nor to feel envious of them. Quite the reverse. And that’s why this being offered as a reason to take such a job cuts little ice here.

Indeed, many of us feel the relative or comparable lack of money in Scottish football has meant it has kept its soul. It is still close to the communities that gave birth to the clubs, still has a significant presence in every area of this staggeringly beautiful country, from sea to shining sea, from Peterhead to Stranraer, from Queen of the South to Wick Academy. It has not been sold to the highest bidder. It has not traded its black feathers for a crown.

It is not financially enslaved to an oppressive theocratic country, it is not owned by Russian oligarchs, it is not part of a global corporation’s leisure industry asset portfolio. Rather, almost all of it is – as it has pretty much always been – modest, local, funny and working-class.

Yes, it has its Old Firm problems in the west with sectarianism, something addressed and put under the noble scrutiny of Steve Clarke recently, but to tar the whole of the culture of football in the country with that uniquely localised and too slowly fading problem, is simply to not know these lands.

This is a glorious country, with a glorious football past, present and future and, although this isn’t often acknowledged beyond its borders, it doesn’t make it any the less true.

This is what Rodgers has left behind. I would not seek to pass judgement on his choice. Obviously, absolutely he’s entitled to do whatever he wishes, for whatever reasons and without any hostility despite his clunky departure. It is a different job, yes, and it will have different challenges, but it is absolutely not an upgrade and anyone who thinks it is, is either blindly in thrall to riches and cannot separate money from soul, or simply has no idea of the global import of the Bhoys.

There is a vast, cavernous gulf in income between the two leagues, that is without doubt, but the difference in quality of entertainment is often nonexistent. Everything else is marketing.