MAN OF THE WEEK

BRENDAN RODGERS

EYEBROWS will have been raised in some quarters about his decision to relaunch his managerial career in Scotland but, from Celtic’s point of view, this is a major coup. Their last two appointments were Ronny Deila, who arrived unheralded from Norwegian side Stromsgodset, and Neil Lennon, who was taking his first management job. So to recruit someone who, two years ago, took Liverpool to within two points of the title shows how well Celtic have done. The feeling in Glasgow is this appointment rivals that of Martin O’Neill in 2000 but for Rodgers (right) — who has agreed a 12-month rolling contract — to be remembered in similarly glowing terms, winning the Scottish Premier League won’t be enough if he wants to come south again and fight for trophies. What sets O’Neill apart is his achievements in Europe in 2002-2003, when Celtic knocked the Liverpool team I played in out of the UEFA Cup en route to facing Jose Mourinho’s Porto in a final they lost dramatically 3-2. O’Neill was able to sign players such as Chris Sutton and John Hartson from the Premier League but Rodgers recognises he won’t be buying from that market, as it’s difficult for Scottish clubs to buy top-level players from England. That, of course, is a negative but Rodgers didn’t let it influence his decision. He wanted to get back to work and is excited about the idea of trying to put what is undoubtedly a huge club back on the map in Europe. I’ve played at Parkhead under the floodlights and sat in the stands for Champions League games against Ajax and Barcelona. It’s an unbelievable stadium when it is bouncing and I know from experience Celtic have got a very good manager to get them what they want.