Brendan is a big hit in Glasgow – even

A CELTIC fan from, he guesses, about the age of three, Brendan Rodgers says he was ready for the fervour with which the club is followed.

What he certainly didn’t expect, however, was to find himself on to be the receiving end of gratitude from Rangers supporters!

Yet as he gears up for the Premiership opener against Hearts at Tynecastle this afternoon, the former Liverpool boss swears that has been the case.

“I’ve had them come up to me, thanking me for coming to Scotland,” said Rodgers.

“Guys showing me their tattoos, and saying: ‘I’m a Rangers supporter, but thank you for coming to here’.

“Butthatisfine because I respect that,

“Listen, everyone has been brilliant and I’ve settled in really well. My family’s up here, too.

“I hadn’t expected anything less because you Scots are a good race of people!

“The expectancy up here, though, is just huge – and that is not just for Celtic but other teams too.

“I witnessed that first handwhenIwassatwith Neil Lennon in a press conference for a game between Celtic, who he was managing at the time, and Liverpool in Dublin.

“It was a pre-season game,andIfoundthe level of intensity that was with him at that period of the season just remarkable.Iwastaken aback. I couldn’t believe it.

“I understand the rewards at the end of it are Champions League and all that.

“But I think there needs to be perspective as well.”

While the new Hoops boss hopes for realism when his team are involved in European action, he accepts that in the domestic arena, any outcome other than Celtic winning their sixth straight title will be perceived as failure.

“That’s good, it is the pressure that you want,” hesaid.

“If I wanted to be comfortable, I could have sat and stayed out of work for another couple of years.

“With my pay-off, it was fine and life was good, and I travelled and golfed.

“But, you know, when you come to Celtic, when you come to the big clubs, that pressure is there and some of us, we need it, in a funny way.”

And as his side approach a big domestic double header which