Rodgers – Derek is a thinking coach
HIS changes ultimately didn’t save his team from defeat, but Brendan Rodgers says he admired Derek McInnes for the boldness he showed last time Celtic faced Aberdeen.
In a move that wrongfooted the media, if not his opposite number, McInnes sent out a side missing star players James Maddison, Adam Rooney and Jayden Stockley in the clubs clash at Pitttodrie last month.
“I wasn’t really surprised as such. For me it confirmed that Derek is a thinking coach,” said the Hoops boss.
“They lost 4-1 the last time they played us at Celtic Park in August, and he was trying to find a way to change things. You have to admire a coach when he does that.
“The simple thing would be to roll out the same team and maybe you lose again and you think afterwards you should have done something different. Everyone’s a captain in hindsight.
“But he, and his staff, will have studied us and come up with that they thought was the best way to get a result.
“We’ve won the two games, could have been more comfortable in the second one. But we’ve played well.
“This one, though, is a Cup Final.”
Victory would give Celtic their 100th trophy and set Rodgers down the path towards achieving the sort of dominance in the Scottish game Martin O’Neill enjoyed in his time at the club.
“The manager has to be a big part of the process. But players – it boils down to availability and affordability.
“It’s having the right people assessing the right type of profile for you.
“I was asked by Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell when I came in here to be the architect of the club. That was very appealing.
“But you can’t do it all on your own. You don’t know everything. You know 90% but there’s another 10% out there you need specialist help with.
“I know that, but that allows me to manage that way, to delegate, to get other opinions on things.”