FROM SEAMILL TO SALVATION
Rodgers has reconnected with Celtic’s history on the Clyde coast .. and more importantly with the fans after lifting title
SENSING that another moment of history was imminent, Brendan Rodgers took his players to a familiar bolt hole on the Clyde coast.
While the pre-match meal on Wednesday provided the sustenance for Celtic to physically get the job done, the inspiration to do it in style came through a reconnection with the club’s glorious past.
‘I think it was a really nostalgic day,’ said the Celtic manager. ‘It started at Seamill. We had our pre-match there.
‘It’s where I used to look at pictures of Jock Stein and those players. They used to do preseason there. Then coming to the stadium knowing it was a tribute to Tommy (Burns). Ironically, he’d have been 67 today.
‘To get the victory in the style of which he’d have loved watching was really special.’
A man who made an indelible mark both at Celtic Park and Rugby Park, the 16th anniversary of Burns’ tragic death at the age of 51 was fittingly marked with a striking tifo in the visiting end and warm applause from everyone inside the stadium.
The ‘supporter who got lucky’, as Burns described himself, would certainly have approved of the way Rodgers’ players got over the line to claim a 12th title in 13 years for the club.
A swashbuckling display on the very ground where Celtic had lost twice earlier this season provided a resounding answer to the many questions that have been asked of them.
Although already eight points better off than they were when Rodgers (right) last lifted the title in 2018, this one felt like one almighty slog at times.
With Celtic beset by personnel issues, injuries and infighting between the fanbase and the board, there were times when a resurgent Rangers side looked capable of taking full advantage.
While all of those concerned at Parkhead could probably have lived without the drama and the doubt that have been part of this journey, Rodgers admitted that prevailing in such trying circumstances always feels more rewarding. Asked if this was the sweetest title of his career, the Northern Irishman replied: ‘There’s no doubt. I was tested for lots of pressure. I think the awkwardness of it (returning to the club). ‘I totally respect that (view) of the supporters and the feeling they might have had and that lingered on. ‘There were moments in the stadium. I knew my job was to somehow pull this together and we’ve been able to do that. The staff, we stayed unified, the players stayed with the process and they’ve been able to perform. ‘When I look at the titles they’ve all been special, but this has been the most challenging for so many reasons and some out of football. ‘I’ve never had my style focused on so much. As a coach who broke through and became a manager at 35, my key reference has been my style. ‘So, to come here and have the accusation about my style not fitting felt strange. But I knew from what the team was missing it would come and we now look like we are at the start of the season. I don’t think anyone could complain about the style on this surface.’ There was one simple reason why the Celtic board ignored the inevitable backlash and identified Rodgers as the right man to succeed Ange Postecoglou last summer. In his two-anda-half years in charge from 2016, Celtic entered seven domestic competitions and claimed the lot. Appointing football managers should never be a popularity contest. Whatever ill-feeling remained among some fans about the manner of his abrupt defection to Leicester, when it came to his track record, there was simply no decision to be made.
When Rodgers said ‘come back in May’ to any lingering doubters last year, it was clear that he had lost none of his self-belief.
‘I put myself under pressure but I’m happy with that,’ he reflected. ‘It’s never bothered me, and I feel it’s when I’m at my best. Thankfully, I was able to make that true and bring it home for them.
‘I think every season you have is a learning season and there are all the things flying about. Things like “he’s never been in a pressure situation” or “he’s never had this challenge before” but I never doubt. I have complete faith in my work and what I do, and it was just about time and we came through when it mattered.
‘These players have dealt with the pressure side of things so well, concentrating on the football.
‘Against a team (in Kilmarnock) who have hardly conceded, who are so stubborn and hard to beat. How we played through the pressure and level of game was so good.’
In keeping his half of the bargain by delivering the club’s 54th title, Rodgers has been placed back on the pedestal he occupied before hastily departing for the East Midlands five years ago.
The songs of celebration that came after full-time at Rugby Park saw the visiting support serenade him as they used to. Nothing heals the wounds quite like success.
‘Well, hopefully it can get to that, but I have to earn that,’ he stressed. ‘Nights like that, performances like that, builds that bond back closer again.
‘There might be some guys who might never understand and might never turn, but I’ll cope with that the best I can and, in the meantime. I’ll prepare this team to win and be successful.’
Wednesday’s emphatic victory ensured the mood inside the ground when the league campaign concludes against St Mirren tomorrow will be one of pure celebration.
With the Scottish Cup final against Rangers next up, Celtic appear to have rediscovered their mojo at precisely the right time. Rodgers believes his players can yet get better.
‘That would be the plan,’ he smiled. ‘There’s happiness and joy. I don’t like losing on trophy day. I want to finish the season stronger. Our whole idea was to sprint over the finishing line.
‘Can we go again on Saturday? Then can we recover for Hampden? — which will be an amazing occasion on a big pitch that suits our game.’