Rodgers happy to give his son a chance to shine
BRENDAN Rodgers is not the first father to lend his son a helping hand. Nor the first football manager. Darren Ferguson won a Premier League medal playing 15 games for dad Alex’s Manchester United side in 1992/93.
Tony Pulis signed his boy Anthony for Portsmouth, Plymouth and Stoke. Paul Dalglish pitched up at three clubs managed by legendary father Kenny.
Zlatko Kranjcar changed the formation of his 2006 Croatia World Cup team to shoehorn Niko — now with Rangers — into his starting line-up. And promptly lost his job.
In comparison, the 45 minutes played by Anton Rodgers as a Celtic trialist in a nondescript pre-season game in Austria is small beer. But the appearance of the manager’s son in Rohrbach did not go unnoticed.
Released by League One Swindon at the end of the season, the 24-year-old played 45 minutes in the 1-0 win over BW Linz to get his fitness up. It’s already clear he won’t be signing for Celtic.
That he featured at all is revealing in itself. Winning a domestic Treble has given the current Parkhead manager a clout and influence his predecessors dreamed of, but never actually had. Rodgers works from a longer rope than Ronny Deila or Neil Lennon ever had.
‘I’m not the first manager in the world who has had a son who played football,’ he said of the issue. ‘I’m not worried.
‘It’s more important to me that I have a son — that the father and son relationship is there.
‘I spent my life trying to help staff and players, helping them financially and making their lives better.
‘I probably see my son less than most. I see you guys more than him. I am in a position now where I can help him.’ The working relationship between Rodgers and his boy is, itself, a work-in-progress. The invitation to travel to Austria to train and play with Celtic for nine days was one neither could resist.
‘It’s the first time I have ever worked with Anton,’ continued the Parkhead boss. ‘He is the same as everyone else — he is here to work, to get himself fit.’
On the obvious question, Rodgers is clear. There is — and never has been — any prospect of signing his son for Celtic.
A tidy, composed performance against Austrian second division BW Linz suggested he could do a job. Yet Rodgers senior is wary of the pitfalls of having his own son at the club. The potential for damaging a close personal relationship via raised voices after a defeat is one. How the other players might feel about having a close relative of the manager in the dressing room is another. ‘Anton knows clearly where he is at with us,’ he said. ‘We’re very close and he sees the game how I see the game. ‘But I’ve always wanted to maintain a father-son relationship. And I’m not always a nice guy as a manager. ‘For a young guy, he’s got talent. He wants to play forward passes and open up the game and he’s comfortable. ‘As you can imagine, it was a wee bit nervy for him as he came here to train and all of a sudden he was playing in a Celtic pre-season friendly. But all the guys are good guys and they’ve taken to him really well.
‘He’s been training and working well with the players. When we were putting together the teams, we thought he could play — so there was no special treatment.’
A parent helping a son to go out and earn a living is hardly unique to professional football. Nepotism oils the wheels of industry and commerce.
Balancing a stark reality with the ambitions and impatience of younger players who might feel they could have played in Rohrbach instead is the tricky part. Yet Rodgers spends most of his working year nudging Celtic players down the right path. The chance to lend some professional assistance to his own son is unique.
‘He was out of contract and as a demanding father, I said to him: “Don’t be on holiday too long”.
‘If he’s going to go somewhere in July, he has to be working before then. I said to him to come up with us and do a couple of weeks training and then he’ll be ready to go on to his next club with a decent level of fitness.’
Amidst the scrutiny of the new Celtic trialist, the absence of Kolo Toure in Austria has slipped under the radar.
With Rodgers in the market for a new centre-back, it’s unlikely the former Liverpool veteran will return as a player. He could still return as a coach.
‘It’s a tough one,’ said Rodgers. ‘Kolo is still in that mindset: “Do I want to play?”. He’s now 35. He was fantastic last year but his contract has run out — but he is someone I would like to have a role for. It’s something that he and I have spoken about.
‘Players like that retain the values of a club and understand the levels expected and the pressures, and they can help in that perspective. These are guys that can be great lieutenants for you.’