I did make a promise to Moussa ... I promised I’d make him a better player
SAYS BRENDAN RODGERS
BRENDAN RODGERS called a crisis meeting with his players on Friday, moments after dismissing Moussa Dembele from the building.
But it wasn’t until yesterday lunchtime – when he saw them set about Rangers together – that he could be sure his words had got through.
It has been a turbulent time for the Celtic manager who had to decide his squad had been poisoned so badly by Dembele’s actions that it would be better for him to continue the season one striker short than it would have been to keep the Frenchman on board against his will.
More awkward still, Rodgers then had to explain to Dedryck Boyata and Olivier Ntcham why their friend was being allowed to leave when they were being denied the chance of earning a small fortune elsewhere. Knowing full well that these players had been on Dembele’s side all along.
The unspoken worry was Celtic’s dressing room might not recover from this bout of internal eye scratching. Certainly not in time for the first derby of the season two days later.
But having watched his players put on a unified front in the face of their noisy neighbours, Rodgers believes a crisis has been averted.
Asked afterwards if he had cause to suspect there may have been a splintering of his group in the wake of Dembele’s deadlineday departure, he said: “Yes, it can be a concern but communication with the players is important.
“There’s only three things I’ve promised them.
“My communication is open, that’s the first point. I’m never going to tell you something in six months that I can tell you now. Whether you want to hear it or not is entirely up to you – sometimes pride can get hurt.
“I will always guarantee and promise them quality in the work that we do. Hopefully they develop as individual players.
“And the third thing is I’m fiercely ambitious. I’m ambitious for the club to have success and ambitious for them. Their careers are short so I want to help them.
“Apart from that, I can’t promise them anything. They need a different manager. But those three things I can guarantee.
“So it was a case of managing a difficult situation. It was a delicate one. But you have to communicate with them.
“So very quickly we pulled in the players. They understand how we want to develop and you saw in the performance today – the intensity and the quality of their work. So now we can move on.
“That’s management, your job. You can’t let these things drift.
“There was big interest in Olivier and with Dedryck as well. But you sit down, talk with the players and look at the pathway forward for them. I’m sure they are going to leave at some point.
“But you have to be able to put them in a mindset where they see there is still opportunity for them here – then they will move on in the future.
“You saw their performances today. Dedryck was outstanding and that’s a shame when you think about what happened to us without him in the Champions League qualifiers.
“However, it’s gone. He was great today and he’ll help us for the rest of the season. Olivier was also first class.”
This whole Dembele business may have made Celtic a killing in the transfer market but it has also come at a cost to Rodgers on a personal and professional level.
He has been bruised by Dembele’s accusations and also left to plot for the season with only two strikers in his squad. None of it is remotely close to being ideal.
But Rodgers said: “I have to deal with it. I always think about the bigger picture – the squad and the spirit within the team.
“Yes, we are down a striker but I will always protect the mentality of the group and we have other young players – like Ryan Christie – who can come in and come through. I’m looking forward to that coaching element between now and the end of December as opposed to talking about transfers.”
Yesterday, though, Celtic got back into their old groove as they saw off the latest Rangers
challenge with considerable comfort. Steven Gerrard left Celtic Park defeated for the first time but also promising to regroup and provide the champions with a sustained challenge.
Rodgers will take him at his word – while hoping his own words continue to resonate within Celtic’s dressing room.
He said: “You expect as the season goes on for your team to improve. So Steven will expect his team to be better and I will expect my team to be better.
“But what we showed today was the spirit – which was clear in the team – and also the quality.
“There is no doubt Steven going in there has made a difference to them. It’s a real treacherous period of the season. But he has brought in good players and you can see they’ve got tactical discipline. He has done very well.”