RODGERS FOCUSING ON FITNESS
SAYS BRENDAN RODGERS
FROM the out-of-shape 15-year-old wondering why he isn’t on a pro contract, to the aged veteran spending extra hours in the gym just to keep his old body in peak condition. Spend long enough in coaching and you’ll bear witness to every single staging post on the dedication spectrum.
At Celtic, Brendan Rodgers — a man fully intent on making his team the fittest, fastest, most flexible and athletic collection of footballers in the land — has seen both ends of the scale under the same roof.
‘I’ve had one player in here — and I hope he sees the light — who is a big, big talent,’ said Rodgers. ‘A kid with massive talent. Talent to play Champions League football.
‘And the agent wanted to know when he was getting a professional contract. The kid was fat. “What? You want to know that (about a pro contract)? I’ll tell you when…”
‘A kid who had all the tools, all the talent, but was fat. Couldn’t last a game. Not eating right. Fish and chips all the time. So we organised a plan for him, to sort him out. If he wants to do it.
‘But I don’t worry about it. It doesn’t break my heart because some other kid with less talent, someone who commits to it, will make a player. The key thing is the boy’s a talent — but it is whether they want to devote their life to it.
‘To be fair to the agent, it was more a conversation about when is he going to get a contract. He wasn’t in demanding one — and was sensible enough to understand what was being said. We’ll see if the player is sensible enough to understand because he’s got a huge talent.
‘The point is, yes, they all want to play for Celtic. But, before you can play for Celtic, you have to be able to train with Celtic. If you’re never fit enough to train, how are you going to play?
‘So, it’s important to create an elite environment. Some will fall by the wayside because it’s too much. If you want to be lean, fast and strong, it’s a serious business.’
Rodgers’ belief in the need for a high tempo and constant movement isn’t just some fad or foible. He has looked at successful teams and how they win. He recognises that athleticism has become, if not quite as important as technique, then at least an integral part of playing at the top level.
Can you argue with him on this point? After all, while the contributions of Vardy, Mahrez, Captain Morgan et al should not be downplayed, Leicester City’s title victory was built upon N’Golo Kante’s ceaseless devouring of acreage; the all-action midfielder may well drive Chelsea to the league flag this year, too.
A veteran of many battles against human nature, ingrained habits and an approach to nutrition veering between careless and reckless, Rodgers needs no invitation to seize upon any opportunity to hammer home his key message. Even if it means breaking into an important refuelling session.
‘I took the Under-20s the other day and interrupted their lunch, which I apologised for,’ revealed the former Swansea and Liverpool boss. ‘I said: “Sorry guys, listen, come with me a second…” and I took them into the gym.
‘Who was in there doing his activation, doing his stretching, doing his work? Kolo Toure. He’s 35 years of age. He could have been down the drive and away home but, a few hours after he’d finished training, he was in the gym on his own, stretching.
‘That’s what you need to do to be a top player. Body fat, body mass, looking after yourself, being a professional. It doesn’t start when you arrive at the training ground, it starts with your first waking moment. Then when you drive out, it doesn’t end. It’s a lifestyle. It’s right the way through.
‘The guys that will play on until they’re 35 are the guys that have been looking after their body. If you have a brain to add to your brawn, then you’ll have a chance. To be an elite sportsperson at the top isn’t easy.
‘If you want to operate at the level of Champions League, be a worldclass player or the very best player you can be, you have to develop technically, tactically, socially and in terms of your lifestyle.
‘Nutrition is a serious business in football at the highest level and some of our senior players have seen that. They have seen what it does to your performance. So you have to do it, and that’s a choice.’
Admitting that he was too new to the country to speak with authority on whether the ‘junk food culture’ identified by others was a serious epidemic, Rodgers added a chilling warning, saying: ‘The culture, if it is that, then fine. But you can never be a top country — or have top players.’
Young players at Celtic are made aware of nutrition issues at a very young age, the idea of treating their bodies with reverence seen as more than just an add-on to ‘normal’ training.
It is the hope of Rodgers that, before very long, more players at the top end of the development programme will follow the likes of Calvin Miller into the first team.
The manager, who says he has told the 18-year-old not to expect a load of game-time in the coming
One kid here had all the talent but he was fat
weeks, added: ‘But he has smelled the grass now. He has that inspiration. There will be more academy players coming through — and in the second part of the season that will happen.
‘When you promote young players it is the Under-8s who get the motivation also. The parent who is driving up here on the winter nights to see their son on the astroturf might be doing it three times a week, or down at Barrowfield. They know their kids are going to get a chance — they are not coming here thinking it is going to be a wasted journey.
‘Not just that there is a possibility that their son will play in the first team. It is there, because there is a manager who will play them. So it is not just what you do for the immediate Under-20s, it is for the children and the families of the Under-9s and the development teams below them. That they have a bit of hope.
‘Listen, there are great players there. Every culture is different and from what I have seen here, Chris McCart does a brilliant job with the academy, overseeing it. There are outstanding coaches here who are very diligent, very professional. They are working really well with the players
‘But what I see up here, from my short experience, is ensuring that they all understand what it actually takes to be an elite player. I have witnessed one or two up here with big talents but, when it gets tough, they go the other way.
‘This is the key thing for Scottish football — understanding that, if you want to be a Champions League player, or be the best you can be, your talent is not enough. You need to prepare in every facet of your life to be a player.
‘There is talent here in Scotland, no question about that. There are players with ability. And they have every opportunity now to be a footballer. Are they going to take it? Or are they, when it gets a wee bit tough, looking for the easy way? Do they eat the right things? Do they lead the life of a footballer? That is the main thing.
‘I’ve spoken to enough players — and they blame everyone else. They blame the coach, they blame never getting the chance. They don’t take responsibility. It’s everyone else’s fault.
‘So I’ve been very clear coming in here, telling the kids that you have opportunities here — you have every tool in order to be the best player. You need to commit to it.
‘We will have a plan for you to get into the first team, but the crown is on your head. You’re the king of your own destiny; you’re responsible for it. Stop taking shortcuts, stop blaming everyone else — and get on with being an elite player.’
It’s important to build an elite environment