Sir Alex told me complacency is like a disease. Whoever we give the baton to, they have got to run like hell and fight to get results
SAYS BRENDAN RODGERS
FRESH from planting one foot in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, Brendan Rodgers savoured the company of a two-time winner of European football’s greatest prize.
Even now, Sir Alex Ferguson remains a truly inspirational figure. The chance to dip into the 75-year-old’s vast well of wisdom is never one Rodgers wastes.
‘It is gold dust, really,’ he enthused. ‘He is the big boss of everyone.’
The two men were among the guests at a gala fundraising dinner for charity Street Soccer Scotland in Glasgow on Thursday evening. For Rodgers, it was the perfect way to relax after the profound satisfaction of that 5-0 rout of Astana 24 hours earlier. Scotland’s footballing knight has been an intermittent but important influence on his career in football.
Thirty years ago, the Celtic manager was a wide-eyed schoolboy invited to train with Manchester United. His youthful mind took note of how visible Ferguson was around the club as he began his extraordinary 27-year reign.
There was then a letter of encouragement from Old Trafford after Rodgers was sacked by Reading in 2009. That was sincerely appreciated. So, too, was the respectful rivalry formed when the Northern Irishman later took charge of Liverpool.
Above all of those aspects, however, is the astonishing example of Ferguson’s own work. That relentless desire to keep on winning, learning and adapting all the way.
This lunchtime, Celtic travel to Rugby Park protecting an unbeaten domestic record that has existed since Rodgers’ arrival. Europe hovers on the horizon, but focus cannot be allowed to waver. In many ways, Ferguson’s tenure at Manchester United provided a template.
‘He was incredible with what he formed, developed and cultivated all the way through — and he also stayed modern all the way through,’ said Rodgers.
‘His enthusiasm, the drive, the hunger… you have to always keep the complacency away and that’s what he mentioned last night. He actually mentioned that complacency is like a disease.
‘We speak about it here every day. The last time we played Kilmarnock, we beat them 5-0. We played Astana here and we beat them 5-0, but we have to be hungry and go and fight. Whoever we give the baton to, they have got to run like hell and fight to get the results.
‘To lead like he did at that level for so long is incredible. He is a very inspiring man and he has obviously got a real brain full of wisdom and knowledge of top-level management.
‘He’s up there as a beacon for every manager. I love listening to him on Jock Stein. Jock was clearly a huge mentor and I’ve heard Sir Alex talk about him on numerous occasions. He did a half-hour at the Hydro on what Jock Stein meant to him.’
Ferguson was — or still is — the godfather of British managers. His advice proved invaluable to numerous coaches seeking to make headway. His patronage could help persuade directors of a club that they had the right man for a vacant job.
Rodgers would never claim to occupy a similar position. But you do not have to look far for stories of managers and coaches who appreciate the time he has given them. In May, Paul Hartley was invited to Lennoxtown following his sacking by Dundee.
‘I think it’s just a natural thing,’ said Rodgers. ‘When you see someone in need or in any walk of life, then I’m always someone to hold my hand out and support.
‘He (Ferguson) did that when I got the sack from Reading and I got a letter from him. That meant a lot to me at that time.
‘I’m still relatively young as a manager at 44, but there are guys in their early thirties coming into it now. It’s a game where the most experience you have can help.
‘If I can help in any way, I’ll always do that. I’ll certainly support managers who are out of work, because I’ve been there myself.
‘When I got the letter after Reading, I hadn’t really come across Sir Alex at that point. The only time was when I came over from Northern Ireland as a boy. He had only been at United a year or so at that time.
‘But, even back then, what was apparent to me was the fact that every time I went there, I saw Alex
Ferguson every single day. Every day. It was incredible.
‘I was 14 and I was seeing him every day — but that was the work he put into everything, including the youth. He knew all the young coaches and was absolutely brilliant.’
Rodgers produced a fine bottle of Argentinian red wine to greet Ferguson when Swansea first entered the Premier League. The old master still left with three points.
A year later, Rodgers became the last Liverpool manager Ferguson would face in English football’s most potent match-up.
‘He was always great,’ insisted Rodgers. ‘That is one thing with him. He loves the rivalry and I was a rival for him in that last year of his.
‘But he was always very open. In that dead moment for a manager, when the players are out warming up, he and I would have a cup of tea. He invited me into his office.’
Celtic’s dismantling of Astana didn’t escape Ferguson’s attention on this latest reunion.
‘He said it is always nice when you win a European game 5-0,’ added Rodgers. ‘It was a great win for us.’
That result provided the latest underscoring of Rodgers’ worth. Personnel problems were calmly and intelligently solved.
With the manager under contract until 2021, Celtic fans are revelling in this attack-minded era of success. Rodgers knows, however, that it would be fanciful to think of a reign close to the quarter-century and more Ferguson had at Old Trafford.
‘It won’t happen,’ he added. ‘Football doesn’t work like that now. I think when Arsene Wenger goes from his job, you will see the very last of that profile and longevity of manager.
‘Where I am thankful and lucky here is that I have a really brilliant and clever board.’
After this week, with another £30million of Champions League income about to be secured, those thanks are doubtless reciprocated.
Brendan Rodgers was speaking as a three-disc ‘Celtic Invincibles’ DVD was launched to mark last season’s Treblewinning achievements. Priced £20, it can be pre-ordered now via the club website.