LEVEIN v RODGERS ANATOMY OF A WAR OF WORDS

THE verbal spat stretches back to Ian Cathro’s sacking by Hearts at the start of the season, when Brendan Rodgers expressed sympathy for the young head coach and publicly questioned the structure he was working within at Tynecastle. Caretaker boss Jon Daly took umbrage at those views after a 4-1 defeat at Parkhead.

JON DALY (Aug 2017)

‘It is absolutely disgraceful. I think it is very poor. A manager of his calibre should know better. ‘I followed Brendan’s career when he was at Liverpool and never once did I hear him make a comment about Man United’s structure, about Chelsea, about Man City’s structure. ‘But all of a sudden he comes to Celtic and thinks it is acceptable to talk about the structure of our football club. ‘Our club at the moment is very easy to pick on and kick, but for a manager of his calibre to come out and make the comments he did was unacceptable. ‘I can understand the comments made about the manager leaving but, once he starts talking about the recruitment of players, fitting into the system and questioning Ian’s authority, it shows me he doesn’t know Ian Cathro very well.’ Rodgers later stood by what he said, while praising Daly’s capabilities, but there was a sting in the tale when he was asked about the ‘unwritten rule’ where coaches shouldn’t discuss managerial matters at other clubs.

BRENDAN RODGERS (Aug 2017)

‘Yeah, well he (Daly) hasn’t become a manager yet, so wait until he becomes a manager and he’ll know the rules of the game then.’ After switching roles from director of football to manager, Craig Levein had his say on the Daly-Rodgers spat.

CRAIG LEVEIN (Dec 2017)

‘Listen, I was annoyed and I think Jon Daly was annoyed because it was nothing to do with him (Rodgers). As far as I am concerned, it was a while ago and there’s no point dwelling on things. It’s gone. I think Jon was annoyed, so he was entitled to say what he feels.’ The war of words erupted again after teenager Harry Cochrane’s superb performance in the 4-0 Tynecastle win which ended Celtic’s record-breaking domestic run. When Cochrane suffered a collarbone injury after a challenge by Scott Brown in the following month’s 3-1 victory for Celtic, Levein took a swipe at the Parkhead skipper after he was asked if his 16-year-old midfielder deserved more protection from refs.

CRAIG LEVEIN (Feb 2018)

‘I think everybody should get a little bit more protection from Scott Brown. I was annoyed about that (the challenge). I watched it back and I think Scott, after the game at Tynecastle when Harry bossed him, I think he decided he wasn’t going to let that happen.’ Rodgers duly defended his skipper, then turned the tables by asking if Levein should be risking a 16-year-old player in such big games.

BRENDAN RODGERS (Feb 2018)

‘There was nothing in the tackle. They competed in the air and the young guy was unfortunate. ‘You could argue: “Should a 16-year-old be put into a game of that magnitude against the best team in Scotland?” ‘We had to be aggressive in the game, we had to have intensity but that is how we play every single game. Scott Brown goes into every game to dominate. That is what I ask him to do.’