Scottish Daily Mail

DINING OUT ON LIFE AT CELTIC

Rodgers relishes the challenges of a place at Europe’s top table

- by MARK WILSON

BEADS of sweat were noticeably absent from Brendan Rodgers’ brow yesterday. There were no signs of anxiety, no curt responses that might betray pressure felt within.

The Celtic manager is in the midst of one the biggest weeks of his Celtic tenure to date. His forthcomin­g schedule — and the city in which it takes place — might be enough to instantly stress out some other coaches.

Rodgers, though, wore the smiling demeanour of a man relishing every one of the demands placed in front of him. Five months in, the satisfacti­on he derives from his job is growing on an almost daily basis.

The hours have been relentless. But so, too, have been the rewards. Not least in the response he sees from a squad eager to absorb his teachings.

Defying the idea of Glasgow as an overheated pressure pot without equal in British football, the 43year-old jokes his biggest off-field concern is not succumbing to all of the city’s high-end restaurant­s.

Tonight brings a main course of Champions League action. Borussia Monchengla­dbach’s visit to sold-out Celtic Park could be a defining moment in terms of retaining European football beyond Christmas.

Rodgers knows expectatio­ns have been raised by last month’s exhilarati­ng 3-3 draw with Manchester City. He hopes his players — an ‘ego-free’ bunch, he enthused — will respond accordingl­y.

For Rodgers, the desire is simply to continue a process of improvemen­t he admits has been more enjoyable than he first imagined it might be.

‘When you win, it helps,’ he admitted. ‘It’s been brilliant. Everybody talks about the goldfish bowl (in Glasgow), but I haven’t found it like that.

‘Maybe my experience at Liverpool has helped me — managing a huge club there — but for me it’s just a dream to be here and to have the responsibi­lity to deliver.

‘I know what the supporters want here. I know what it feels like and to have that is a huge honour for me.

‘Along with my staff, we work tirelessly. We don’t have many days free. We’re in at 7.15 in the morning and we leave at 6 or 7 in the evening, then we’ll be analysing again at home until the late hours. But the profession­al and social life has been brilliant and I’ve loved every minute of it.

‘Players are different. They get up in the morning, they come in, they get fed, they train, they recover and go home. It’s not easy, but it is different.

‘As a coach and manager, you are preparing sessions, you are worrying about playing good football, you are preparing your travel, you are preparing your monthly schedule for work, you are worrying about working well. It’s a different life.

‘But socially, in the moments I do get out, it has been brilliant. I was saying to Charlotte (his partner) the other day, the number of restaurant­s you have up here is incredible. You could eat out somewhere different every night for a whole year. You have to be careful because it’s a great life…’

Victory this evening would make that last statement all the more true. A first Champions League group stage win in three years would continue the process of restoring Celtic’s standing within continenta­l competitio­n.

A dip is all but inevitable at some point in the season. But Rodgers harbours few fears about the scrutiny applied in Glasgow should the waters of the aforementi­oned goldfish bowl turn a little murkier.

‘Listen, every individual is different,’ he added. ‘I tend to focus on my profession­al life, family and that’s it.

‘When I can take a break from it, I will do. I went away in the last internatio­nal break. I didn’t in the one before that, because sometimes you need to press the reset button again and think over things in a different setting. It’s been brilliant.

‘I understand the expectancy, I understand the pressure of a big club and, like I said, maybe the rollercoas­ter of the Premier League and all that side of it prepares you well. This is still a huge challenge, it’s a huge club.’

Embracing life at Parkhead has also soothed any pain that might have lingered from his dismissal by Liverpool 12 months ago. He could watch their stalemate against Manchester United on Monday evening with nothing but good thoughts for his former employers.

‘I’m never jealous,’ insisted Rodgers, who came close to winning the 2014 Premier League title.

‘I had a great time at Liverpool. I went there as a very young coach to one of the great clubs of the world — and travelled the world with them getting great experience­s.

‘We nearly achieved something that the club hadn’t done for a long time. We created something that makes me happy because that time we were there together still gets talked about.

‘Of course it didn’t end so well in terms of results. But Jurgen (Klopp) has gone in there and done an excellent job. They are a great club.

‘I said at the beginning that they have a great chance this year. When you don’t have the midweek games and are playing with an intensity in your team, it gives you a real good advantage, I think.’

Midweek games, at home and in Europe, are part of Rodgers’ calendar for pretty much the remainder of 2016. Right now, though, you sense he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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