Hunger in paradise as a fear of complacency fires Rodgers forward
around all the challenges you face,” he said. “Really, it’s all about people. It’s about managing people’s expectations and continually striving. That kind of thing interests me a lot. No matter how many titles you win, no matter how well you have played, you have to prove yourself every day, and take that mentality into the games.
“You can’t go soft, which is very easily done. You see it in football all the time, and in business as well, that if you do go soft after success, it doesn’t work. You have to keep pushing and that’s been the real pleasing factor of this season for me.
“OK, we have shown we are human. We have lost three games domestically in two years, and that number shows, more than anything else, the consistency of the players. The mentality shown by them over the 20 or so months I have been here has been exemplary, it really has.
“It’s something I am aware of as I lead the team. I want to make sure they are allergic to being complacent and lowering their standards.”
Maintaining those standards requires Rodgers to revitalise his squad as well as constantly challenge them. The fact the 5-0 demolition of Rangers was underpinned by a double from Odsonne Edouard as he deputised for usual derby destroyer Moussa Dembele demonstrated the potential for successful player turnover in a pivotal area of the team. It is likely that it would cost Celtic in the region of £10 million to secure Edouard
0 Odsonne Edouard celebrates his first goal in Celtic’s 5-0 win over Rangers. on a permanent basis from Paris Saint-germain – the 20-year-old was loaned from the French club last summer. That deal could, in part, be financed by selling the man he would effectively replace – Rodgers hinting again that Dembele could be ready to move on following two seasons in Glasgow that have demonstrated the 21-year-old possesses all the attributes to prosper on a bigger stage.
“Moussa is a fantastic player and the reasons why he has come here have borne fruit,” the Celtic manager said. “We wouldn’t want to lose him, but you have to think he’s a big talent and something may happen in the summer. We try to have the next one lined up.
“Odsonne is a top talent. If you look at him, we brought him in for a reason. He has developed and grown over the season. This is a wonderful place to continue with that education. We have Leigh Griffiths as well. He has suffered a bit with injuries this season, but he’s a top talent. We can use the best of the strikers in the games in order to win. I have said all along, and I know there were question marks about him, that Odsonne has everything. He needs an education and has a way to go, but he’s a top talent.