Brendan Rodgers must be getting seriously tooled-up for this Celtic return. If you are a fan, that has to be the most-exciting part of the appointment.
Rodgers is not going to put himself back into the position unless he genuinely feels he can do something in Europe and seriously fancies giving Rangers another severe going over. You can’t delete the past and I’m not going to attempt to. I’ll get to that. But first thing is first. The big positives.
I actually really admire the fact Dermot Desmond seems to have ignored any potential issues over fan unrest when making this move. It’s as if he’s thought: Brendan Rodgers is the best man for the job. That’s who I am getting and I’m not bothered by what anyone else says or thinks. Strip away the furniture and what has gone before and, looking purely at the candidates and his previous record at the club, there is probably no doubt Rodgers was the stand-out man Celtic could get.
After the way he left, I can’t believe he would go back into the job without having serious guarantees and real belief he’ll be given what he wants to try to make an impact in the Champions League. He won seven trophies out of seven domestically. There is nothing more to achieve on that score. Europe has to be playing a big part.
In that sense, given a manager is never in a stronger position than when he is wanted for a job, he could have said we need x, y and z and I want this and that. Why would you take the opportunity in any other circumstance? Why put yourself in any sort of position to potentially fail?
You can say or think what you like about the way he left, but Rodgers is a very smart and a very clever bloke. And, obviously, it goes without saying that so, too, is Desmond.
So there must be some serious plans in place because, otherwise, I can’t see why either party would choose to take this path. It’s a risk for both sides. Of course, you can say any appointment is a risk and that would be true.
But, as much as I gather the feelings around Rodgers have thawed among most supporters who are beginning to forgive him for his departure, they won’t forget. I’m not going to sit here and pretend it didn’t happen because it did. Those “fraud” banners weren’t written for nothing. Some people were angry and felt let down.
I myself felt at the time he did the wrong thing by walking away to Leicester when he did it and I’m not just going to backtrack or change my mind now because Rodgers is coming back. I’ve heard it said Ange Postecoglou has basically done the same by declaring his love for the club and then heading to Spurs, but I debate that because of the timing.
Now maybe if he had the chance to go to Spurs in a February like Rodgers did with Leicester, he might have taken it. We’ll never know because it didn’t happen. The fact is Postecoglou finished the job he started and left at the end of a season.
That’s what I believe Rodgers should have done in 2019 and it’ll be up to each supporter to have their own take on that now. But the fact both he and the club are prepared to go again after that means they have to be confident with a clear vision of being successful.
One thing fans do is back the manager. Once he is chosen for the post, you get behind him and I have doubt the fans will because, as I have said, it is widely accepted there could have been few better candidates around. If any.
What I do feel is that this is purely business now. There was a lot of romance about Rodgers’ appointment the first time and he had the fans eating out of his hand both with his words and his deeds.
The stories about coming over on the boat to watch Celtic and all of that stuff, as well as the team doing the business, made the fans fall in love with him. But the sentimental side of it would have gone with him in that taxi to Leicester. Now this is a business arrangement.
It will be up to the manager to deliver the goods right from the outset because I’m not sure he’ll not be cut the same slack as he would have in the past. For example, Postecoglou was given time for the shambles he inherited and he was afforded patience from the fans when he lost three of his first six Premiership games including one to Rangers at Ibrox.
Can you imagine if Rodgers loses three of his first six games next season including the Old Firm dust-up across the city? With the squad at his disposal? No, me neither.
The flak would fly. There will be no grace period. Rodgers will be expected to deliver and straight away.
You have to believe he will do so because, first of all, he’s a terrific manager and then there’s those plans which must be in place for exciting things. One thing you know is the players will love working with him. Rodgers has a fantastic CV as a coach and is a proven winner.
Sure he has to take his share of responsibility for Leicester’s relegation, but he won them an FA Cup and produced top-six finishes beforehand. He almost won a title at Liverpool. He swept the domestic boards in almost three years at Celtic.
He’s not going into this to fail. He is surely only returning with the belief of doing something special. And that, in itself, has to be a reason for the fans to get hugely excited at what’s coming next.
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