What a difference a year makes

For both sides of the Old Firm there e is unfinished business following their meeting 12 months ago Much has happened to Brendan Rodgers in a short space of time and he is sure his team have also moved on since last April’s upset, hears Graeme Macpherson

WHEN Rangers beat Celtic in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals a year ago, B rendan Rodgers was otherwise occupied. There is a school of thought that it was the ignominy of that loss that persuaded the Celtic board to make an approach to the then out-of-work manager to see if he wanted to become Ronny Deila’s successor. But that possibility was certainly not on Rodgers’ mind as he and his family congregated at a christening in Belfast and tried to follow progress at Hampden on their phones.

The penalty shoot-out defeat was a disappointment to the majority gathered but it would kick-start a chain of events that would conclude with Rodgers becoming the next Celtic manager just over a month later. A year on, and he stands on the cusp of greatness. With the Premiership and League Cup trophies already safely back in the Parkhead trophy cabinet, victory over Rangers in this afternoon’s semi-final would both extend Celtic’s remarkable undefeated domestic run and also take them to within one win of completing the club’s first domestic treble in 16 years. The picture, then, has altered dramatically for both Celtic and Rodgers since events on April 17 last year.

“It was very, very clear what I was doing [on the day of last year’s semifinal],” Rodgers instantly recalled. “I was in Belfast at the christening of my young nephew Malachy.

“I was surrounded by lots of players in the chapel on their phones. Had my mum still been alive, she’d have killed them if she’d known. So that’s where I was. I was always up to speed with what the score was. Then I watched the game later. I don’t think there was an argument about who the better team was but Celtic could still have won it and gone through despite not playing so well. But Rangers were the better team and deserved to go through.

“Did I think about the Celtic job that day? I never thought about it at all. I was enjoying a break, a rest, trying to map out what the next move might be. It was only when it was all announced and everything was organised later on [about Deila leaving] that I got a call from Peter [Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive]. That was probably the first thought I gave it.”

Losing the semi-final was a sore defeat for Celtic to take – especially given Rangers were still operating in the Championship at the time – but all wounds have since been healed. The League Cup final win over Aberdeen in November served as a timely balm, meaning there will be no lingering mental scars when the Celtic team walk out the Hampden tunnel alongside Rangers this lunchtime. When I came in, there was a feeling that Hampden wasn’t a good place for Celtic,” Rodgers said. “I said ‘OK, you’d better make it a good place because we want to win trophies in finals and this is where it’s going to be’. Twice we’ve been there and been outstanding in performance and result. We played very well in both the semi-final and the final of the League Cup. We don’t need to worry about that. “It’s not like it’s the first time back after a year and all the memories are provoked again. It’s gone. It’s a different manager, a different team, a different mentality going into the game. Scottish players have been there, even just a few weeks back, playing very well and having a victory. We go into it ready, like we have been from the very first game of the season.”

THIS will be the third Rangers manager Rodgers has faced this season following Mark Warburton’s departure and the temporary stewardship of Graeme Murty. Pedro Caixinha may be a bit quirkier than his two predecessors, but Rodgers dismissed the notion the build-up had become a battle of wits, although he couldn’t resist borrowing one of the Portuguese’s traits by discussing Rangers’ probable tactics.

“It’s not mind games to me, I’m only worried about my team,” he shrugged. “He’s a nice guy, Pedro. I met him at the under-17s cup final the other night. We were both there and I saw him at half-time. He’s named my team, hasn’t he? Let’s see if his team selection is right.

“I think Rangers are maybe a little more pragmatic, a bit more direct. They’re still a team that open up, want to play and press the game from different areas sometimes. They’ve changed defending corners. They’ve gone to zonal defending as opposed to man-marking. The ball comes into the box from long throws. Martyn Waghorn is chucking it in now, he’s got a long throw. Those are just little changes like that from the analysis I’ve seen.”

Patrick Roberts will be one of those players looking to atone for last year’s semi-final disappointment even if there is a chance he may miss the final should Celtic get there. The winger is likely to be named in England’s squad for the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea, which starts the week before the Scottish Cup final.

“It’s a World Cup so they want their best players available, but they also know a lot of the boys will have big games for their clubs around them as well so it’s a bit up in the air,” said the on-loan Manchester City player. “But I’ll just play my football and whoever it’s for I’ll be giving my best and enjoying it.”

When I came in here, there was a feeling that Hampden wasn’t a good place for Celtic