Orange walk took Rodgers back to The Troubles
BRENDAN Rodgers left The Troubles in his native Northern Ireland behind him when he moved to Reading as a teenager to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer and never gave so much as a second thought to them in the decades that followed. Yet, Rodgers had only been in Glasgow for a matter of days after taking over as Celtic manager in 2016 when he was suddenly gripped by the same sense foreboding that he had often experienced growing up in Carnlough back in the 1970s and 1980s. “When I was in my first week I was on Maryhill Road getting some petrol in my car and the next minute I heard the drums beating,” he said. “There was an Orange walk going on – and it was coming past the petrol station. I had the feeling that day that I hadn’t had for years. “You have never seen me dance around a car with a petrol pump so fast! Thankfully it was only one marching band out on a Saturday, just having a wee practice. “I have had a wonderful time in Scotland, an amazing experience. I have never felt anything like that. I have heard bits and pieces, but I always ignore it. But there is certainly an element of that.” The story, recounted by a man who was raised amid the fear and violence of the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, highlights the extent of the problem the west of Scotland in general and our national game in particular has. In a week that has seen sectarianism once again raise its ugly head on more than one occasion – Kilmarnock striker Kris Boyd was struck by a coin and called an “Orange b ***** ” by Celtic fans at Rugby Park last Sunday and Kilmarnock manager Steve Clarke was branded a “Fenian b ***** ” by Rangers supporters at Ibrox on Wednesday night – Rodgers’ views are worth listening to. He remains astonished this coun- try continues to be blighted by this issue when so many positive strides forward have been made in the peace process in his homeland in recent times and is fearful for the future unless it is addressed urgently. “It is such a shame because religion and football are such a big thing in Scotland,” he said. “But it needs to be a positive or else you are going to ruin a country, going to ruin society that has so many positives. “I left Northern Ireland at the age of 16. I grew up there in The Troubles. Then I’ve lived in England and in Wales for a bit. I came up here when I was 43. It’s only really came back into my life since I’ve come to Scotland. That’s the reality. “The whole Catholic/Protestant thing does not interest me one iota, not one iota. When I brought my wife up here she didn’t know what a Catholic and a Protestant was. She just didn’t get it. The narrative of what happens around here? I’m not interested in it to be honest. It’s no good for anything.” It was slightly depressing that, in the wake of such a fine Celtic showing against Valencia in Spain in the second leg of their Europa League last 32 double header on Wednesday night, talk turned to sectarianism. Rodgers should have been concentrating on the performance of the Ladbrokes Premiership leaders against their La Liga rivals in the Mestalla rather than being questioned on what needs to be done to tackle the scourge of bigotry. There was much for him to be happy with despite his team being beaten 1-0 on the night and 3-0 on aggregate. He altered his system by playing with three centre-backs and two wing-backs and it worked well. The harsh ordering off of Jeremy Toljan just before half-time effectively ended their chances. But Rodgers, whose team exited the Europa League at the same stage last season, was given hope for the future by the nature of his side’s play. “I was so proud,” he said. “It was one of the proudest nights I’ve had as a coach, going to a place like that having been totally written off before the game and showing the fight and the quality we did. “I’m so, so proud of the team, but also about how they played. I asked them to have the courage and the bravery to play and they did that. They were the protagonists in the game rather than waiting and suffering.” Rodgers was missing three of his most important players – Filip Benkovic, Tom Rogic and Kieran Tierney are all out injured – but Celtic still produced some attractive attacking football. “That will give the players confidence each time they play and each time they go to play for their national teams,” Rodgers said. “They’ll find confidence that they can play against these kind of players knowing that they are also good players as well. “It will be difficult for us to win the Champions League or the Europa League. But what’s important is the gains we can get out of these matches. It’s about winning first and foremost. “But it’s more than that. Games like Thursday’s will do us the power of good. Look at Callum McGregor. What a player! If he was camped on the edge of his own box for the whole game, what does he learn?”