FAR BEYOND MY EXPECTATIONS
A year on from doing the deal with Celtic, Rodgers is so happy in both life and work
IT was the moment in which the jungle drums were finally silenced. One year ago today, official confirmation of Brendan Rodgers’ appointment as Celtic manager came by way of a succinct communication.
Feeding the required paperwork into a fax machine in his Mallorca abode was the easy part. Persuading fiancée Charlotte of the wisdom of moving to Glasgow was the taller order.
‘We were overlooking Port Adriano in Mallorca and we celebrated with some champagne,’ he recalled. ‘Charlotte has never been into football so she hadn’t really heard of Celtic. But she absolutely loves it here. The schools and everything have been great, so she’s settled in very well.’
Personal contentment with life off the field has been a constant in the Rodgers’ narrative this season.
It helps when the working life is so fulfilling. As a lifelong supporter of the club, his sense of anticipation at signing on the dotted line last May was palpable.
What has transpired, however, has been beyond a hand-in-glove fit. Expectations have long been surpassed.
‘It has been better, I have to say,’ he smiled. ‘I never thought I could be this happy. In everything really.
‘I have great relations with the directors, a great working relationship and a real respect for Peter (Lawwell). On a daily basis we communicate.
‘What doesn’t get talked about so much, and any manager will tell you the same, is that when you have the trust from the people above you and the board and the ownership, it gives you huge confidence.
‘The minute you feel that go, it is very difficult in the modern era. A manager will tell you it can be a slow death. And you feel it. There is no hiding. You just know.
‘That swell of support I have had from the board, in every aspect, has been amazing. How they have made myself and my staff feel is incredible. Dermot (Desmond) wakes up in the morning and thinks of Celtic. He looks at everything Celtic. He goes to bed at night, everything Celtic.
‘He will be in contact with me on a fairly regular basis. It might only be three or four lines in a text offering encouragement and support. It might be a meeting in London, it might be a phone call but it is constant. It is always there. I couldn’t ask for any more. There is a real trust to it.’
The bond is appreciated because it has not always been there in his professional life. Rodgers’ CV is still pockmarked by sackings at Reading and Liverpool.
Last year, news of Ronny Deila’s imminent departure pricked his interest once again. But he approached a meeting with Lawwell and Desmond at a London hotel with an open mind.
‘I didn’t have any (special) thoughts at the time,’ he said. ‘I went along to meet two guys, who I knew had done so much for the club, to find out from a supporter’s angle as much as anything how it was working from the inside.
‘Remember, too, that I was part of a process. When I first met them it was clear there were other people the club were going to speak to.
‘But after that meeting I felt a real chemistry between the three of us. I felt a genuine affection for them and wanted to help them, if I was asked to come in, because they were passionate about the club and they wanted it to do well.’
When he met the media a few days later, one of his stated aims was to see Celtic Park full again. He has ticked that box, too.
But all the gate money in the world is never going to make a dent in the riches TV throws at also-rans in England.
Breaking through Scottish football’s glass ceiling is easier said than done.
‘It’s a huge task,’ said Rodgers. ‘The budgets are night and day but we have to push. I’m optimistic but I’m realistic.
‘People go back to the era when Martin (O’Neill) was here but there was a big financial input into the club and it’s nowhere near that now, with all due respect.
‘How can we find a way? Can we find it through a football idea?
‘Can we bring the club together with a philosophy that runs right the way through, that’s ingrained in the kids, through the development teams straight on to the first team? Can we get as many of the boys from the academy base in there? Can we get an extra percentage from them, because you’ve got a (Kieran) Tierney, a (Anthony) Ralston, a (Callum) McGregor?
‘If you get an extra one per cent from those, does that give you the extra ten or 15 per cent that can push you on?
‘The vision and the view of the future is pretty clear here.’
When Celtic travelled to play Manchester City in December, the English media stopped just short of asking Rodgers to name the date of his return to the Premier League.
He may do so one day. In the same way that eventually working abroad might appeal. For now, it does not register in his thinking.
‘Listen, the Premier League is a wonderful league,’ he said. ‘Every game is a pressure game and it’s very competitive. But I’m happy to get different experiences.
‘I started young as a coach and a manager, so I’ve still got a long time left in me to achieve what I want to achieve.
‘And that could take me anywhere in the world.
‘The finances involved in the Premier League, and the challenge there, is huge.
‘But it’s about being happy and I’ve found a real happiness here.’
The Premier League may not be his only option when the time to move on comes. It is an open secret that Rodgers is well thought of at the FA.
Prior to even leading Celtic in a competitive game last summer, he was linked with the post vacated by Roy Hodgson.
He laughed it off at the time. But was there a chance he might have been bound for Hampden on June 10 as opposed to May 27?
‘You write it,’ laughed Rodgers. ‘I saw an article which said I love Scotland. Nah, in football you just never know where you can be.
‘That is the thing about it. I never thought I would be Celtic manager. I always wanted to do it in my lifetime but you just never know.
‘It has been pretty surreal, really, when I think of the last year and what has happened in that period. It has been full of brilliant football and life experiences.
‘If you have that happiness, you will stay longer and be more consistent.’