Rodgers tribute to Tommy
Brendan Rodgers admits his first thought will be for the late, great Tommy Burns if Celtic seal the Scot t i sh Premiership title today.
A win over Hearts at Tynecastle will earn the Hoops their sixth title on the trot and their first under the Irishman.
And Rodgers insists the honour won’t be lost on him.
Preparing for the emotion of the occasion, the manager believes Celtic legend Burns, who mentored him in his early coaching days at Reading, would be
proud of what his protege has achieved with the club he loved.
Burns played 16 years for Celtic before becoming their manager for three years in 1994 – but despite an acclaimed team he never won the title as boss as Rangers moved towards Nine in a Row.
Rodgers said: “I think of the great man Tommy Burns, who never won a title here as manager.
“And you think of the commitment he gave to the club and the privilege it is for me to lead the club when we actually do get over the line.
“There will be many thoughts for many people and hopefully they can be proud of the work we have done.”
Aberdeen’s storming 7- 0 win over Dundee on Friday night kept the pot boiling on the title race until at least this afternoon. With a 22-point lead, anything less than a win for Celtic will take the flag race into midweek, with the Dons at home to Inverness on Tuesday and the Hoops hosting Partick Thistle the following night.
However, even if they do it today, Rodgers wil l curtail the celebrations.
He said: “We’ll be happy but there’s a game on Wednesday night.
“Of course there will be a time to celebrate success, it ’s important to do that but there will be time for that.
“We just want to get the job done as quickly as we can. If we can, to win the league unbeaten is a great achievement. Then we’ll focus on the semi-final.
“That’s why I can’t really give the players too much rest because they lose rhythm and we have to be careful of that.
“We want to arrive at the semi- final in the best possible place we can be.”