Scottish Daily Mail

SCOTT IS DADDY OF THEM ALL

Captain sets the perfect example, insists Rodgers

- STEPHEN McGOWAN

He’s always been happy here. It’s a hard place to leave

THE vultures are hovering around Moussa Dembele, and if Celtic are beginning to glance over their shoulders it’s only natural. The Manchester United scout who ventured north to Dingwall on Wednesday night might have hoped for more bang for his buck than a 15-minute cameo appearance from the French striker.

But Dembele doesn’t hang around. Quick impacts are his thing.

His scoring feats against Manchester City and Rangers have attracted the attention of some wealthy predators while, for any footballer, the English Premier League is a difficult worm to resist. Offering rich, juicy pickings to the hungriest players, Celtic won’t wriggle clear of covetous glances forever.

Yet, as Brendan Rodgers points out, England is not everyone’s be all and end all. Scott Brown is the perfect example.

‘I remember Harry Redknapp at Tottenham wanting to take Scott there,’ said the Celtic boss yesterday. ‘Harry told me that, we talked over the years. So there’s no doubt Scott’s had moves where he could have left here.

‘But he was happy in his life and happy here at Celtic. As I said, this is a hard place to leave.

‘If money’s not the considerat­ion — and, listen, no one can deny any player or any person the chance to consider doubling or trebling his salary — then other things come into it.

‘Scott’s always been happy here and the supporters love him. They see his worth and probably even more at this stage.

‘So he can certainly retire in the comfort that he could probably have played in that league and at the biggest level. But he’s happy and that’s the most important thing in life.’

Happiness comes in different forms. While Celtic were rattling four goals past Ross County, Brown was becoming a father for the third time. The Fifer enjoys a comfortabl­e lifestyle and, at 31 and in his tenth year as a Parkhead player, he is going nowhere now.

Which is not to say he couldn’t have. Aside from Redknapp’s interest — Brown was loyal to Gordon Strachan at the time — Rodgers insists he would love to have had him in his title-challengin­g Liverpool side.

‘You guys will have seen him more consistent­ly than me but, if he was playing at a better level than he’s at just now, both physically and tactically, then I’d be surprised.

‘The biggest compliment I can give him is that, having worked in what is supposedly the best league in the world in terms of being the most competitiv­e league in the world, Scott Brown — if I look at my Liverpool team that nearly won the title — he would definitely have been in it.

‘There’s no doubt about that, so that’s the level that the guy is at as a player and as a captain. You want him on your team and on your side.

‘It’s the biggest accolade that I can give him. But thankfully he’s chosen to play nearly ten years at Celtic and still looks as strong and fit.

‘He’s devoting his life to football, he’s really strong. His preparatio­n, his diet, the training methodolog­y will always quicken him up, speed up his game and get him thinking tactically.

‘You saw on Sunday against Rangers, he was magnificen­t.’

When a man has a third child, it’s hard to know whether to offer congratula­tions or commiserat­ions.

As the big event beckoned in midweek, Celtic’s manager chose to offer respite instead, telling the former Scotland skipper to order his priorities carefully.

‘I spoke to Scott a number of weeks ago, I obviously knew his wife was expecting around this time,’ he explained.

‘I just said to him: “She’s the most important thing, make sure you look after her, she does amazing for you when you’re travelling all over the world playing and earning a living for your family. Look after her and everything else will take care of itself ”.

‘He’s come back fresh and ready to go again on Saturday. He trained today and he looks in great nick.’

Resting eight players in Dingwall, Rodgers took no chances with those who did play.

In an attention to detail — and cost — rarely witnessed at the club in the past, Celtic chartered a 30-minute flight from Inverness to get their players home for 1am.

A midday kick-off against closest rivals Aberdeen beckons at Pittodrie tomorrow. At a venue where Ronny Deila’s team lost twice last season, Rodgers will leave nothing to chance.

‘I said to Dermot (Desmond) and Peter (Lawwell) when I had the conversati­on with them about coming (to Celtic). I understand where the club is at in terms of the financial side compared to Europe and where I’d just come from, but I always said the one thing we cannot compromise on is the players’ preparatio­n for games,’ he said.

‘We have to give them the best in order to be the very best.

‘You get your work in, you recover, and as soon as you are back into the dressing room, you are preparing for Aberdeen.’

Victory at Pittodrie would propel Celtic ten points clear of them at the top of the Premiershi­p — with a game in hand — before the start of November.

Alarmingly for their opponents, Rodgers claims his team will only get better as the season progresses.

‘Lots of players are developing well and, over the course of the season, we are looking to improve even more,’ he noted.

‘As the season goes on, the team will get better and better. That’s the aim.

‘It’s a natural progressio­n when you spend a lot of time on the training field working with players and you put the time into them.

‘The lead counts for nothing now. The players will tell you we are pretty relentless and don’t look at points ahead.

‘It’s just really throwing everything into the next game.’

After six wins on the bounce in all competitio­ns, Aberdeen faltered unexpected­ly in Hamilton on Tuesday night.

In common with Derek McInnes — and most of the people who saw it — Rodgers believes that Accies’ winning penalty was harsh on the Dons, but will only serve as a motivation­al factor for a team battling to keep the title race alive.

‘They will be disappoint­ed and they will want to bounce back this weekend,’ he said.

‘I’m really looking forward to it, another venue away from home that is a notoriousl­y difficult place to go. But we’ll be ready.’

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 ??  ?? I passed: Dembele after his driving test
I passed: Dembele after his driving test

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