ROGIC LOGIC
Rodgers has no fears over Tom’s packed summer for Celts and Oz
BRENDAN RODGERS is adamant Australia boss Ange Postecoglou won’t burn Tom Rogic out – but will ensure he’s in peak shape for Celtic’s crunch Champions League qualifiers.
The playmaker has only just returned from four months on the sidelines after ankle surgery and is easing his way back into the swing of things at Parkhead.
But he faces a hectic run-in domestically and then a crammed schedule for his country.
Australia’s participation in the Confederations Cup could see the midfielder being involved in at least five matches in June.
Postecoglou has named Rogic as a key member of his squad for the tournament as well as a World Cup tie against Saudi Arabia and a friendly against Brazil.
But Hoops boss Rodgers is keeping a close eye on the scenario.
He spoke with Rogic about the scheduling but also revealed that a friendship with Postecoglou and the Socceroo coach’s knowledge of the player and the game will ensure there are no problems with overworking the Hoops ace ahead of the crucial summer Euro dates.
Rodgers said: “I know Ange. He’s a good guy. I first came across him when we went with Liverpool to Australia and we played against his team in Melbourne before he became the national manager.
“There were 96,000 there in the MCG and he’s a big Liverpool fan so I had a good couple of days with him.
“I chatted with him, he has good ideas, he’s a good coach. We can speak and I trust Ange with his work.
“He has other players there. Tom is one of them and I don’t think there is any drama in it.
“He’ll look to use Tom as much as he can, as well as being aware of where he’s at with his injury.
“Tom has been out for quite a long time and back training. He has come into the last couple of games and you can see the difference that he can make. We will just monitor it between now and the end of the season.
“Tom is a proud boy and wants to play for his country. He has missed a large part of the season, with a number of months out, so it could be the best thing for him to get a number of games. We’ll see.
“I was talking to Tom about it. There’s a lot of travel for him. “To Australia and then back out again to Russia to play in the tournament.
“I’m not sure he’ll play in all five games. The season is coming to a close really and he has missed out on a number of months.”
Rogic will be involved in Dingwall on Sunday when the champions go north to tackle Ross County.
The contest comes a week before back-toback clashes against Rangers but Rodgers insists no focus will be lost in the Highlands.
He said: “Every game with Celtic there is a different intensity. There is never a game when any team switches off.
“Whether it’s at the beginning of the season or end, at Celtic your game has to be up there. We can only control our own appetite and ambition in the game to get a result.”
Sunday’s clash is the last of the Premiership programme before the league split and the concept is one Rodgers doesn’t favour.
He said: “I just got my head around the split. People have been trying to explain it to me for seven months.
“I wasn’t sure how it all worked. I still prefer the traditional. The seventh-placed team can go on a run and it can take you to a certain position. If you’re Partick Thistle, it’s absolutely brilliant.
“They’ve been great and are a good side who have worked their way from the bottom. It’s great for them they won’t finish any worse than sixth.
“I can’t say I totally agree with it. I’m a traditionalist in that you work your way through the season and play the teams home and away but I suppose you need excitement and the drama is focused.”
That drama will come at the foot of the table with Celtic already over the line at the top but the work doesn’t stop for the Parkhead gaffer.
On the pitch, there’s a Treble to be won and unbeaten record to defend but off the pitch is just as important.
New surfaces at Parkhead and Lennoxtown, new indoor training facilities, working youth coaches, making signings, developing players. You name it, Rodgers is into it.
He said: “That is what excites me. I’m not a maintainer of anything. I like to create, to build stuff.
“I was asked to do that here. That was the beauty, the attraction. ‘Come and be the architect of the club’, were Dermot Desmond’s exact words. That means assisting Peter Lawwell and his board to make decisions.
“My job is to look after the club and to have really talented people within the organisation to make decisions and improve the facilities, the structure. Can we do all that and move the club forward?
“The first job I had in football was as an under-11 coach and a welfare officer, so from very early days I’ve been about care. Looking after, developing. That is just my nature, how I was built.
“I could easily say I look after the first-team and I don’t worry about what the under-14s or under-15s are doing but it’s not my make-up.
“Legacy is about what are you actually leaving behind. It’s tangible but also the feeling. Did you try to do your best for everyone, to take it to another level, to raise standards?
“If you want to be the best you can be then you have to do those things otherwise you simply maintain and I’m not here for that.
“I’m here at Celtic for a period of time to support the club I love. So when the time to move on comes then I know I’ve given it absolutely everything. Then someone else can come and benefit.”
He has good ideas, he’s a good coach. We can trust Ange with his work RODGERS