BRENDAN Rodgers has admitted he is relishing the prospect of coming up against Michael Beale next season and predicted the challenge of beating his former colleague’s new-look Rangers team to silverware will bring out the best in him at Celtic.
He worked alongside Beale when the Englishman was a youth coach at both Chelsea and Liverpool and has not been surprised to see him make the move into management since with Queens Park Rangers and Rangers.
The former Ibrox assistant has, after finishing the 2022/23 campaign trophyless, embarked on a major rebuild this summer and has brought in Jack Butland, Kieran Dowell, Sam Lammers and Dujon Sterling in recent weeks.
However, Rodgers is looking forward to attempting to keep Celtic, who completed a world record eight domestic treble when they beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final earlier this month, on top.
Asked about his time with Beale at Stamford Bridge and Anfield, he said: “I just knew he had a love of the game. I was working with the youth team and the reserves (at Chelsea) at that time, but I knew he had passion for the game and he communicated a lot. There was that real communication from the top end of the academy to the younger guys.
“We just had football chats, really. When we were at Liverpool, we would talk. I changed around the academy and brought in Alex Inglethorpe who is still there now. He knew Michael well and so through that relationship we could speak.
“He was clearly ambitious and wanting to progress which is great, and he’s done that. He made a really good start at QPR and he’s come up here, where he knows the climate, the challenge, the pressures and the expectations. He’s wanted to take that on.
“I bumped into Michael from time to time when he was down with Aston Villa. Michael is starting out in his managerial career and he’s taken on a huge job. I always respect every manager who goes into management because it’s such a tough gig, especially when you’re at a big club.
“Everyone knows the challenge at Celtic and Rangers: you need to win games, you’ve got to win trophies and you’ve got to win them in a certain style.”
Celtic beat Rangers to all seven domestic trophies they competed for during Rodgers’ first spell at Parkhead and the former Watford, Reading, Swansea City, Liverpool and Leicester City manager is undeterred about the threat the Ibrox club pose to the treble winners’ dominance.
“It was the same when I came the first time,” he said. “It was clear Rangers were on the up. They had beaten Celtic well in the game [semi-final] even though it had been a draw and then Rangers won on penalties.
“My focus was on making Celtic the best we possibly could be, and to succeed. This is exactly the same. It’s competition, and you need that because it allows you to be the best you can be. It will be great for me. The derby is a special game, I have to say.”
