Rodgers aiming to finish in style
Celtic boss refuses to get carried away and hopes Lisbon Lions can be the inspiration to end season unbeaten. Graeme Macpherson reports
IN the week Celtic pay tribute to their greatest team on the 50th anniversary of their finest achievement, Brendan Rodgers hopes his current side can deliver a homage of their own. Not even the most fervent of modern-day Celtic fans would be bold enough to place this team on the same pedestal as the all-conquering Lisbon Lions, but, as he and his players close in on what would be an unparalleled invincible treble, Rodgers believes their swashbuckling, goal-thirsty style has its roots in what Jock Stein’s side achieved in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Should they avoid defeat by Hearts at home this afternoon, Celtic will have completed an entire league season without a blemish on their record.
“It’s very fitting,” said the manager. “If you look back at that [Lions] team, the football that they played, the creativity, the togetherness, the spirit, and the behaviour really – it’s all quite fitting of this team and how they’ve played this year.
“Everything is relative but any manager will tell you about all the extremes and difficulties you go through in a season. All the psychological twists and turns that take place. To go through it and at this point having equalled the record of 33 wins and four draws… in front of 60,000 fans, we’ll be as intense and aggressive as we’ve been all season to get the result. Let’s hope we can do it.”
Rodgers revealed he likes to gather his players in a pre-match circle before every game for some last-minute words of inspiration and has referenced the Lions’ achievements before.
“I went to a screening one night of a tribute to the Lions and some of the guys were there,” he said. “It was truly inspiring and I said that to the players. We can’t do what they did. They won five trophies that season, the maximum we could do was three. Being realistic we weren’t going to win the Champions League but we could take lots from that and from the number of games the Lions played that season.
“I would hope that the players have taken inspiration because the other night they still looked as fit, as strong and aggressive in their 57th competitive game as what they were at the beginning. And they are better now, they have improved.”
Winning the treble would put Rodgers in the same bracket as Stein and Martin O’Neill, the only two previous managers to have claimed a clean sweep for Celtic.
“It’s a bit surreal. It’s an incredible thing. I’ve not thought so much about it to be honest. It’s a notion you don’t want to go too far into or you can start to wander. I’ve tried to retain the focus on winning games and playing the way we’ve been playing.
“I’ll think a little bit more about it and what it means if it actually happens. To be anywhere near that in terms of what those guys did at such a big club with all the history and its status worldwide, to be up there… I would be very privileged.”
Scott Sinclair already has one cause for celebration today after he was named the Scottish Football Writers Association’s Player of the Year, adding to the same accolade he collected from PFA Scotland this month.
“It’s great to pick up the award,” he said. “It just goes to show the collective hard work of the team and personally it’s also good for me to have got my form back on track.
“I am enjoying every moment of my time here and I’m in no rush to move on. This is the happiest time of my career so I concentrate on coming in with a smile on my face and looking forward to playing in the games.”
We can’t do what they did. They won five trophies that season. Being realistic we weren’t going to win the Champions League. But I hope the players have taken inspiration