RODGERS FIRING UP ‘FOLLOWERS’
Rodgers is creating a new Paradise for his ‘followers’ by leading from the front
THE followers. It is the peculiar phrase used by Chris Davies, Celtic’s assistant manager, to describe all those who have bought in so wholeheartedly over these past eight months to the ethos and mindset of the man he describes as ‘Our Leader’.
You sense it was something of a Freudian slip, a description he might have liked to swallow before it escaped, following it up within the same breath with the more traditional collective terms of ‘the players and the staff’.
It is out there now, though. When quizzed directly that using such language suggests that stamping your mark on a football club in the way manager Brendan Rodgers has since taking over at Celtic is rather like building up a cult, Davies retreats just that little bit more.
What Rodgers has developed in such a relatively short space of time at Parkhead is something rather special, though. Against Dundee this afternoon, his team will attempt to take their unbeaten domestic record for the season to 36 games and move ever closer to the Premiership title.
Rodgers has created the impression of a squad, and a club, all marching in the same direction. There has been little public dissension or negative headlines, something Davies puts down to strong internal discipline.
Make no mistake, this is a revolution that has been built around a figurehead and Davies insists the reason it has been so successful is because Rodgers leads from the front, asking the same kind of questions of himself as those below him and seeking to observe exactly the same standards in the quest to become ever more ruthless and unrelenting.
‘I think it’s about leadership, as it is in any organisation,’ said the 31-year-old, who also worked under Rodgers at Swansea City and Liverpool. ‘We just happen to be a football club. Our leader is someone who demands a certain level from himself. He demands that level from the followers, the players and the staff. He expects you to meet that. Therefore, you become relentless. He can only demand that if he’s demanded it from himself.
‘I’ve seen managers over the years who have made similar demands of the players, without making those same demands of themselves. As a leader, Brendan’s always been the same and that is the vital aspect.
‘He’s extremely hard-working, dedicated to his profession and a winner. The players feed off that. They see Brendan — and us as a staff — as being relentless so they can be relentless.
‘It’s all about the importance of leadership and the job Brendan has done. I’ve worked with him at different clubs and he’s always very well respected by the players. You are trying to create this mentality where we defend the badge and we’re all together.
‘You’re always better in numbers and that’s the spirit we’ve tried to create here, but that needs strong leadership. We’ve got a big squad with lots of different possibilities, and different scenarios occur during a season. Brendan’s leadership for everyone is so important.
‘There is a big staff here and he is the big decision-maker. He is the one we all look to. He sets the vision and we all try to get there.’
Despite enjoying the luxury of a sizeable squad, Rodgers seems, from the outside at least, to be capable of keeping his players happy. Wins help, of course, but there have been no real negative headlines, no rows, no bust-ups, no photographs of anyone looking tired and emotional in some of Edinburgh’s less salubrious areas.
‘We work on the basis of respect,’ stated Davies. ‘We treat the players in a respectful way as adults in the way we communicate with them. There is no shouting or screaming or confrontation. It’s about how we reach a common goal as adults by working together.
‘The players respond to that. You treat them with respect and they give you respect back. Brendan is pretty strong on rules and making sure there is clear discipline. Without that, you have big problems. But he makes that clear whenever he goes into a club. He always has done.
‘He makes it clear what he expects and I think players want that. Some players maybe want an easy life, but, in general, they want discipline, structure and strong leadership and that’s what Brendan gives them.’
One of Rodgers’ first acts, of course, was to fly club captain Scott Brown to his London home last summer for dinner and a lengthy chat over the best way forward for the club. The bond between both men has grown in the intervening period and become an integral part of the developing success story.
‘As a manager, he’s developed very good relationships with leadership players and captains such as Garry Monk, Steven Gerrard and now Scott Brown,’ said Davies. ‘These are people that can relate to Brendan because of the way he is. They respect him. Scott Brown is a perfect example of a leader in the dressing room. Every single day, even in the warm-up, he is at his maximum.
‘He is one of the best trainers I’ve ever seen. He matches up to the world-class players I have worked with in terms of mentality. He is well respected. Senior players are vital is the point I’m trying to make. We’ve got that, not just in Scott Brown, but he’s the shining example.’
Brown has already been involved in coaching the Under-20 side at Celtic and is keen to move into that side of the game when his playing career comes to a halt. Davies has no doubt the midfielder will prove to be a success as a manager — just like the other captains to have served under Rodgers.
‘I mentioned Garry Monk, who is now at Leeds doing a fantastic job,’ he said. ‘Steven Gerrard will also go on to become a really good manager. I’m certain Scott will become a good manager one day, too. He’s intelligent, he has leadership qualities, and he lives the game inside out.
‘He’s still got plenty of football left in him and he’s been really good this year. We’re looking forward to the next few years of him performing on the pitch, but, after that, I think he will go into management and he will be very good if he does.’
In the meantime, it is all about wrapping up the league as quickly as possible, capturing a domestic Treble and preparing for another assault on the Champions League next season.
‘When we came up here, Brendan made the point in his first press conference that he wanted to continue with our domination of domestic football,’ said Davies.
‘It probably has exceeded expectations in
Brendan is very hard-working, dedicated to his profession and a winner. The players feed off that
that respect and we’re really enjoying that. There are games you really remember — Rangers at home when we scored five. 'That was a moment where we showed all the elements we wanted: speed, aggression, processing. We scored in open play, on the counter attack. It was complete. There have been other moments where you need different elements — late goals or whatever. Throughout the early stages of the season, it was so exciting because we could see we could take the team to a new level. 'We’re getting to meet the fans and it’s nice to get that bit of feedback. When you’re king as a player, a coach or manager, you t the fans to be proud of their team. think they can recognise that we are working as hard as we can for them with the aggression we are playing with, the pressing, keeping the ball. We’ve given them a team they can be proud of. 'That’s the best thing, not necessarily the winning runs.’ The followers are, indeed, many. And the Great leader is providing them with everything they could wish for as he continues creating his own, new version of Paradise.