NO DROPPING OFF
Standards won’t slip while Rodgers drives for Treble, says Boyd
AS THE captain of the last Celtic team to sweep the board in Scotland, Tom Boyd knows what is required to navigate the perilous path to a Treble.
And on the day six-in-a-row was secured at Tynecastle earlier this month, the 51-year-old believes he detected in a little-noticed incident just why it could happen for only the fourth time in the Parkhead club’s 129-year history.
With the title long in the bag, Celtic were romping towards a 5-0 win over Hearts — their largest margin of victory in the league in Gorgie since 1890. Suddenly, however, manager Brendan Rodgers cut an irate figure on the sidelines when addressing Swede Mikael Lustig.
For Boyd, it was a moment that underlined the high standards demanded by the Northern Irish boss and maintained by his team for most of a remarkable season.
That mini-tantrum on the Tynecastle touchline left the 72-times-capped Scotland star sure Rodgers won’t let standards slip on the home straight as he aims to join an exclusive club of Treble-winning managers at Celtic that contains only Jock Stein — in 1966-67, and 1968-69 — and his own vintage of 2000-2001 led by Martin O’Neill.
‘Against Hearts, Mikael Lustig played a pass up the line, trying to fire it to Callum McGregor, and it was a couple of feet wide of him — and the manager was raging,’ recalled Boyd (below). ‘That just shows that he won’t let standards drop.
‘Normally, through the course of a season, a team can underperform on occasion.
‘But I cannot think of any games this season that Celtic have been lucky to win.
‘They have all been deserved wins and, of the matches they have drawn, you would say the Rangers game was one where the level of performance made it the right result on the day.
‘It wasn’t as commanding from Celtic that day as they have been the rest of the season.
‘It would need them to drop their standards (significantly) for anyone to beat them, but I just don’t think that is something the manager is going allow.
‘It’s still the early stages of Brendan’s career at Celtic, but, certainly, you would say he’s made the perfect start.
‘Now there are two games to go to win the Scottish Cup and get a Treble, which would be a magnificent achievement.
‘Then there is the other target of going through the season unbeaten domestically.
‘So, there is still tons to play for and that’s good because there can be other times in these situations when you can switch off. But I can’t see Brendan allowing that to happen.
‘It would be a massive achievement to go the season unbeaten. It’s an incredible ask.
‘But when you see performances like Hearts, you think it would really take for Celtic to be really off their game for an opponent to have an opportunity to win.’
Boyd heaped praise on the recruitment by Rodgers last summer of the likes of Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele. He also hailed the former Liverpool manager’s ability to coax the best out of players such as Stuart Armstrong and James Forrest and his tactical acumen to change plans on the rare occasion the game is not going Celtic’s way. ‘Celtic have been outstanding under their manager this season,’ said Boyd.
‘They really deserve to be where they are right now. They’re unbeaten so far because no one has been able to get the better of them.
‘That’s down to their quality, and how they’ve been dominating matches.
‘It comes from the manager bringing in quality players, but it also comes from getting players to perform at a higher level that they had been at.
‘And who is to say they will not get better next season with the influence of who they could be bringing into the club?
‘The manager also knows how to handle the teams in Scotland and how to tweak things if it’s not quite happening. He makes the changes and they have an impact.
‘Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts were switched in a previous game against Hearts and Celtic and got a goal almost immediately.
‘Then at Tynecastle recently, Sinclair was more central, but Brendan moved him out wide again and he got the goal.
‘It shows you he’s someone who knows what’s the game’s about and who is clued-up enough to make changes to influence the game and not just make changes for change’s sake.
‘It’s great to have a manager of that quality who can influence matches at the start and also change the course of a game.
‘Taking all that into account, I just feel it will take a massive drop in the quality that Celtic have shown this season to lose a game. Hopefully, that will not happen.’