Steel is just as valuable as silver for my Hoops
At Celtic he has become a perennial winner.
A double Treble, one of which was achieved with invincibility. 148 games in charge, 103 victories.
And if he lifts the Betfred Cup today, who would wager against yet another clean sweep?
With that kind of win ratio you might think it’s all that matters to Brendan Rodgers.
For some managers it’s the be-all and end-all. To them, it’s not the most important thing – it’s the ONLY thing that counts. But not Rodgers.
If his side beat Aberdeen this afternoon and walk up the steps at Hampden to collect more silverware, he’ll enjoy the moment.
Why wouldn’t he, after equalling Walter Smith’s haul of seven domestic trophies on the spin?
But there will be no partying back at Parkhead afterwards.
In fact, even if Rodgers’ side do defeat the Dons but don’t play well, you get the impression he’ll barely raise a glass in celebration.
It’ll be on to the next one, the league fixture against Motherwell at Fir Park on Wednesday night.
It ’s ironic that after today’s showpiece, it’ll be another joust with the Steelmen.
Because after Celtic’s 2016 League Cup t r i u mph over Aberdeen, they t r a v e l l ed to Lanarkshire six days later and were two goals down after 35 minutes. Then, off the back of their 2017 triumph over Well at Hampden, 72 hours later they could only muster a 1-1 draw at Fir Park.
Rodgers hasn’t achieved what he has in Glasgow by letting complacency creep in.
And irrespective of how many trophies he goes on to amass in his career – at Parkhead or elsewhere – he’ll only take satisfaction from it if it’s been earned in the proper manner.
Ahead of today’s final against Derek McInnes’ side, the Celtic gaffer said: “Winning is what we’ll all be judged on at the end.
“But it’s never solely been my own measure. For me, it’s about developing players – and creating an environment that allows them to win.
“My joy comes from seeing everyone else. I love seeing people happy.
“For some managers, winning is everything no matter how you achieve it. But I’m different.
“I know that sometimes you can win and not play so well. I get that. “But I’ve been coaching for 20-odd years now and I take greater joy from the football my team plays.
“If we d idn’ t play well and it was just about winning – that wouldn’t fulfil me.
“I’ve just always been like that. In my first job at Watford we had a fantastic result against Roberto Martinez’s Swansea.
“We won 2-0 at Vicarage Road and everyone was on a high after the game.
“Malky Mackay, Sean Dyche, Mark Warburton, Frank Lampard Snr, who were all on the staff, were so high.
“But I was flat. We’d won the game but it wasn’t how I wanted us to win.
“That told me early on in my career that it was more than just winning that mattered to me.
“That result got the performance of the week but no, I like my teams to win with a certain identity.
“Coaching is about the relationship between training and game. If you get that fusion – that makes me happy.
“Whenever I see these boysy later in life, they can look me in the eye and say : ‘He helped me develop as a player’.
“Look at young Conor Coady at Wolves. I gave him his debut at Liverpool and to see him go on is great. That’s what I enjoy.”
If that fusion doesn’t materialise at Hampden today, Rodgers will savour another success but turn his attentions to Fir Park straight away.
The question is, what happens when his Celtic team DON’T win?
After all, it’s all he’s known since arriving here in 2016.
So is he prepared for when the run comes to an end and his players look on as opposition players celebrate?
Rodgers added: “When you’re the leader, you tend to look for the next experience.
“After the game on Sunday I’ll be f lying out to speak to a player on Monday.y There won’t be anyy bigg celebration. We go to work the next day. It’ll be quiet, there will be no party.
“When we won a previous League Cup Final, we went to Fir Park a week later and were two-down at half-time.
“Thankfully we came back to win. There was a celebration after that.
“Did that tell me something when we were two-down at Motherwell? Absolutely. That won’t happen again. The boys know me well enough now.
“The format up here is great because you get the chance to win something early. But it’s still a long season.
“It’s impossible to win all the time. We could lose because of circumstances outwith our control.
“As a manager, you have to prepare for that. I prepare to win but it will happen at some point.
“It was like when our 69- game unbeaten run ended. It finished, we congratulated the other team, picked ourselves up and got ready to go again.
“But I haven’t thought about it much. Our idea is to win. If we don’t, we’ll go again.”
If it’s Aberdeen walking up the Hampden steps, Rodgers will take a crumb of comfort that it’s McInnes who’s got the better of him.
The pair have become friends as well as rivals over the last two and a half years and the Celtic boss believes Dons fans are lucky to have him.
He said: “I like Derek. I’ve never been out with him socially but we’ve spoken after games and communicated a lot.
“He’s professional. He’s not someone who’s there in the morning and away at 12.30.
“I have big admiration for him and enjoy his company.”
Winning is what we’ll be judged on – but it’s never been my sole measure