DON’T WORRY ABOUT CELTIC
New Ibrox boss must look past the gap to city rivals, says Rodgers
WHILE the content of the message Brendan Rodgers sent to Mark Warburton will remain private, its tone was unquestionably supportive.
At Lennoxtown yesterday, Rodgers spoke of the sadness he felt at learning of Warburton’s dramatic exit from Ibrox last Friday evening. The pair worked together at Watford — Rodgers as manager, Warburton as academy chief — and a relationship of mutual respect has endured. The Northern Irishman expects the Englishman will be back in a desirable post in his homeland soon enough.
In some ways, his former colleague’s downfall in Glasgow could be considered a scalp for the Celtic boss — albeit not one he would be happy to wear on his belt.
Although the rules of Old Firm engagement have changed since the days when the clubs were equal powers, there is still rarely room for two successful managers. The huge 27-point gap Rodgers has created at the top of the Premiership wasn’t the reason for Warburton’s contentious departure. But it didn’t help.
Celtic’s dominance obviously represents a fearsome challenge to whoever takes up the reins at Ibrox. Rodgers, though, doesn’t believe that situation will be a deterrent.
Instead, he stressed the importance of Rangers settling upon a strategy and remaining single-minded in their pursuit of it. Looking at what is happening at Parkhead would be a waste of energy.
To illustrate his point, he recalled the story of how he helped a former employer win the Welsh race to reach the English Premier League.
‘When they go into a club, every manager believes they can do things,’ insisted Rodgers.
‘I am sure whoever goes into Rangers isn’t really worried about us, the job we do. They will try to get their own house in order and try to get the team right.
‘That’s when there is growth. You can’t be looking over your fence all the time, or else you will only ever react to what they do. You need your own emotion, your own stability and clear plan.
‘The best example ever is Swansea. This is a club that was within one game of going out the Football League. They beat Hull City on the last day of the season, stayed in the league — and then they changed the ownership.
‘They cut their cloth accordingly. They were simple in terms of what they wanted to do and, within ten years, they were up there in the Premier League.
‘They got their reward for their strategic approach, for their football strategy, putting in place managers who understood that philosophy and just rolled it out year after year. From that day against Hull, they were playing in a game worth £100million a decade later.
‘We get through it and they have now been in the Premier League for five years. It’s wasn’t just emotion, they knew where they were at. They couldn’t get any lower — and then bang!
‘If they had done what Cardiff did, they would have suffered. Cardiff spent big dough, they had big loans trying to get in there. Craig Bellamy signed, everyone was coming in, and we were the first team to get promoted. ‘Malky (Mackay) did a great job taking them up after that, yet if Swansea had only looked at what their neighbours, their big rivals were doing… but, no, they were clear on what they were doing. You can only be true to yourself and then, hopefully, results will go for you.’ One oft-repeated argument is that Celtic need a strong Rangers and vice-versa. ‘You need a strong league,’ responded Rodgers. ‘You want the strongest league you can possibly have — whether it’s Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts or whoever.
‘I came to Scotland for no reason other than Celtic. That’s why I came, to give this club the best I possibly could and, hopefully, it could grow with that, knowing there would be real competitors wanting to beat you, and meeting the expectation of the supporters. But you want the strongest league you can possibly have. And I think it is a good league.’
Considerations about the well-being of the Scottish Premiership no longer feature in Warburton’s mind. Instead, a legal battle looms as he joins assistant David Weir and former head of recruitment Frank McParland in contesting Rangers’ assertion that the three men resigned.
‘I haven’t spoken to him (Warburton), I sent him a message,’ said Rodgers. ‘I can’t help but feel disappointed for him, Davie and Frank. I remember after the Celtic-Rangers game at Hampden, not that long ago, when everyone was lauding the work Mark had done.
‘He had come into a difficult situation. They had a great year in the first year, imposed a playing style, the supporters enjoyed it.
‘They had good success. They beat Celtic, which was a big measure for them, and so much so that they thought they would win the league this year. It’s never that easy.
‘They came in this year and, of course, it’s been a little bit difficult because of so many signings and what not. But it’s a tough league. When you are Rangers, people want to do very well against you.
‘So I’m disappointed really in how it ended for him because I knew his passion for Rangers and I don’t think anyone was arguing about that before the summer.
‘I also feel for big Davie Weir, who I know idolised the club and was a legend around the place. These guys were giving their lives to it.
‘And Frank was working under incredible restrictions in terms of players and staff. It was a difficult ask for them. So I have empathy for them.’
Despite the unhappy conclusion at Rangers, Rodgers is convinced that Warburton will not be short of offers.
‘He’ll get a really good job,’ added the 44-year-old. ‘Mark is an outstanding coach and a good man. He’s got good values.
‘He has many different experiences other than football. He did a brilliant job for me in the short time I was at Watford and is a conscientious guy who wants players to develop.
‘A lot of the work which went on behind the scenes will have gone largely unnoticed at Rangers — but his directive and passion was definitely for Rangers and he absolutely loved it.’