Joey jolts Rodgers
JOEY BARTON has fired another barb in Celtic’s direction by claiming that Brendan Rodgers still has to prove he can deliver trophies. The English midfielder, who will formally join Rangers on July 1, has already dismissed Parkhead captain Scott
FROM a favoured protégé to an Old Firm rival. The prospect of Jordan Rossiter meeting Brendan Rodgers on very different terms adds yet another intriguing sub-plot to the compendium already compiled for next season.
Rodgers was instrumental to Rossiter’s development at Liverpool, handing him a first-team debut aged just 17 and marking him out as a player of significant promise. The admiration was mutual.
‘I thought Brendan Rodgers was brilliant for me, he gave me my chance,’ said Rossiter as he reflected on a change of management at Anfield last autumn.
Indeed, if the Northern Irishman hadn’t been replaced by Jurgen Klopp, then Rossiter may not have reached the contract impasse that allowed Rangers to secure a signing coup for the bargain compensation sum of £250,000.
The 19-year-old midfielder’s arrival at Ibrox was almost immediately overshadowed by the charismatic quotability and baggage-heavy back-story of Joey Barton.
Yet his acquisition could prove every bit as significant over the coming seasons. Frank McParland, head of recruitment at Rangers, views the England Under-19 international as a Champions League player in the making. There is genuine excitement about his potential.
It’s all hypothetical now, of course, but had Rodgers been in at Celtic a month earlier, then he might well have considered making a rival offer for Rossiter.
As it is, manager and former player will now be pitched on opposite sides of the divide. Like all at Rangers, Rossiter’s objective will be to make Rodgers’ debut season at Parkhead as uncomfortable as possible.
‘It is one of these little quirks in football, isn’t it?’ said former Liverpool and Celtic defender Gary Gillespie, who watched Rossiter in youth and first-team games in his role as an analyst for Liverpool TV.
‘I know Brendan thought very highly of Jordan. He had brought in most of the coaching staff at the academy when Jordan was coming through.
‘The feedback was obviously good because Brendan played him in a few games, in the League Cup and in the earlier part of the Europa League. He spoke well of him.
‘So there is a little bit of experience there for Jordan to take on to Rangers. I’m sure the players and fans there will like him because of he has a good attitude. He gets about the pitch, he wants to make tackles, he wants to make passes.
‘Listen, he is still a young player. Unproven in many ways. As I say, he was very highly regarded at Liverpool, but had a couple of bad injuries that held him back a little bit. He has great potential but has to develop a little bit more.’
Gillespie believes Rossiter will find familiarity in the methods Rangers deploy to attain that development.
‘It will be interesting next season because, in many ways, Brendan and Mark Warburton have very similar traits,’ he added. ‘They are a very modern style of coach and manager.
‘Rangers, with Mark and the coaching staff they have, will be thinking they can get the very best out of Jordan. And if he develops like we all think he could, then Rangers will have a real player on their hands.
‘He is a feisty little character, which I really like. He has everything a player needs to go on to a higher level.
‘But success can be determined by whether an academy kid can take that ability and really learn the game to become the player everyone thinks they can be. That is sometimes the most difficult step. Mentally as much as anything.
‘Decision-making is something that can only really come with playing games against senior players and that is something that, for me, Jordan still has to prove. In saying that, though, if you have the attitude that he shows, you are halfway there.’
Attitude is also something Rodgers will need in plentiful amounts to succeed in his far more senior role across the city. Gillespie knows that managing Celtic can bring pressures to outstrip even Merseyside.
‘The three-year stint he had in Liverpool certainly puts him in good stead,’ added Gillespie.
‘Brendan is a methodical guy and he will have done his homework on the pressure cooker that is Glasgow when you are involved with the Old Firm. He won’t be going to into it with his eyes shut. He is astute and will appreciate what is involved.
‘But as much as you can research it and appreciate it, I don’t think you can fully understand just how intense it can be until you are in it.
‘If results go badly, you get a hard time and it can be quite suffocating on occasions. But the flip side is that there is no better place to be successful.
‘For Brendan, there are two clear challenges. To reach the group stage of the Champions League and give Celtic back a bit of standing in that environment. And to beat Rangers and win the Premiership again.
‘They are two massive jobs but Brendan will appreciate what is involved. And I think he will embrace it all. He is manager who love challenges and he has confidence in his own ability.
‘He has a great belief in what he is doing. That can rub off on players and a whole club. He will certainly instil confidence and belief in the Celtic players, which can go an awful long way towards getting the results you need.’
Brendan and all the coaches at Liverpool rated Jordan very highly