Brendan will think of Burns when title’s won
BRENDAN RODGERS will allow himself a quiet moment to remember a special Celtic man when his team secures the league title.
After Aberdeen’s thrashing of Dundee at Dens Park on Friday night, the championship victory party could kick off at Tynecastle this afternoon if the Hoops beat Hearts.
Nobody will be more delighted than Rodgers to see the current crop of players being saluted by the supporters.
But the Northern Irishman will also think of absent friends, in particular his old pal, Tommy Burns.
Rodgers and Burns worked together at Reading, and the current Celtic boss has never been slow to express his admiration for the former midfielder and manager.
He said: “I think of the great man, Tommy Burns, who never won a title here as manager.
“You think of the commitment he gave to the club, and the privilege it is for me to lead the club when we actually do get over the line.
“There will be many thoughts for many people, and hopefully they can be proud of the work we have done.
“It has been a great season so far, but we want to get the job done as quickly as we can.
“If we can, to then win the league while remaining unbeaten is a great achievement.
“The pleasure for me is that relationship between the training field and the pitch. “I’ll be happy, but not totally satisfied. “For my legacy, I want to create a team that’s a joy on the field for supporters to watch.
“But I also want to help the club off the field in every possible way I can.
“The only way you can do that is qualification for the Champions League.
“Once the title is won, we can really focus on the Scottish Cup semi-final.
“That’s why I can’t really give the players too much rest.
“They can lose rhythm and we have to be careful of that.
“At times, you have to come out of the battle and enjoy it, but there will be time for that.”
Rodgers believes that a successful start to his time as Celtic boss was key to the club securing the title in double-quick time. He said: “In the first eight games you can’t win the title – but you can lose it.
“In our first eight games, we put down a marker.
“We were not at our fluent best, but we showed signs, mentally, of what we were capable of.
“We then gained confidence from the Champions League.
“We thought: ‘Right, we have qualified – but we need to play the game in a better way’.
“I like to work with players who still want to improve, no matter whether it is youth players or senior players.
“They are champions because they can walk the walk and talk the talk at the same time.
“This is a really special group we have fostered here.
“The beauty is that when I look around the squad, I see so much growth left in it.”
Rodgers won his first league match in Scotland at Tynecastle, with Scott Sinclair signing the day before – then scoring the winner.
The manager said: “Scotty was just in the door but I wanted to get him involved.
“Thankfully, he came because I followed him all round Majorca trying to get him to sign.
“I drove round to his hotel and badgered him to sign. “It was a nice start for both of us.” The 44- year- old believes there’s nothing better for a manager than taking a team to the title.
He went on: “When I went to Liverpool, it was hard if I won a trophy but finished eighth. “That’s no good, no good for anyone. “I’d seen a manager in Kenny Dalglish get the sack having won the League Cup and losing an FA Cup final.
“I think the mark of success is consistency over the course of the season. It’s a great signifier of your work.”
SINCLAIR BACK WHERE IT ALL STARTED