Celtic, assuming their title celebrations this week haven’t left them with too much of a hangover, will end this season on 93 points if they beat St Mirren at Celtic Park tomorrow afternoon.
It would be 11 points more than Brendan Rodgers managed in the second season of his first reign at the club, and the same number of points that Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic racked up in the Australian’s debut campaign in Glasgow.
Of course, that statistic only tells half the story, with this season more of a slog and a struggle - certainly off the pitch at times as much as on it – than the headline points total suggests.
But after clinching the Premiership title in any case, and re-affirming his place in the affections of the Celtic support along the way, Rodgers could be forgiven for displaying just a smidgeon of smugness about the way it has all ended.
So, when he was asked today for his reflections on this season as a whole, the smile was beaming and the sarcasm laden on thicker than Liam Scales’ suncream at training, as he replied: “A disaster. A disaster.”
Rodgers knows as much as anyone though that had his side failed to retain their title, a disaster is exactly what it would have been. But they managed it, at times by hook or by crook but then eventually by playing some glorious football as they neared the finishing line.
It would all seem to leave Rodgers and his team in a much better place looking ahead to what is to come next season - in the hearts of the Celtic fans from his own point of view, and as a side to be reckoned with from a collective standpoint.
“Yeah, we’re back to zero, hopefully,” Rodgers laughed.
But first, he has a trophy day and the piffling matter of Scottish Cup final against Rangers still to attend to before he casts his mind too far ahead. Casting his mind back though allows him to appreciate how far both he and his players have come.
“Listen, it’s not been easy – for everyone – not just me,” he said.
“There’s been a bit of a surreal feeling around it all.
“I think as we’ve gone along, you build that trust again. We stay aggressive and that’s when we are at our best.
“We’ve still got work to do this season. We have two more games and we want to finish well tomorrow in front of our supporters.
“We can finish off with 93 points and add to our goal tally for what has been a ‘disastrous’ story line that’s been created. It’s some benchmark that we’ve set.
“Then we have a cup final, which I’m so excited about.”
All’s well that looks to be ending well for Rodgers then as far as this season is concerned, but in a rare concession that he does take notice of what is being said about him, he admitted that some of the stick that has come his way this year has been testing. Whether that was in the form of doubts from the media, or distrust from the Celtic fanbase.
“Listen, I’m not made of wood,” he said.
“We all have feelings, and we are all obviously built in different ways.
“I feel that I can deal with pressure and those situations, but it still doesn’t make you immune to everything.
“But I think what experience has given me is not to become too emotional with words, and there’s been lots of that.
“I can trace back to August, whenever the headlines were around that I’m under massive pressure, and this is on the 26th of August [after a goalless home draw against St Johnstone].
“That has continued right the way through with various people having their say, and that’s the modern world and this game.
“But for me, I had to show a mental strength, like the team has had to do. And eventually, the work that we do, the processes that we have in place, have come through in the end.
“That is why we create habits every single day, so that it becomes us, and for me it is no different.
“It has been a challenging season in ways I didn’t think it would be. I knew it was going to be a little bit awkward, and a little bit of a feeling coming back, which I totally get.
“But one or two things surprised me, and you have to deal with that and deal with it the best you can.
“But ultimately, I’m paid to win, and to develop a team to play in the way the fans want them to play.
“I think in this last period we can see that now.”
So, a testing season for Rodgers and Celtic, but ultimately, a triumphant one. And the exigencies of his role haven’t diminished the ecstasy of the winning moment, or the gratitude for his position.
“I drive up in here to work every morning absolutely full of joy,” he said.
“I love my life as a professional manager, I absolutely adore working with this group of players and the staff here at Celtic.
“The support I’ve been given has been unwavering right throughout the season. I’ll always think a lot of Dermot (Desmond) bringing me back, because that was a brave decision from him and the board to take me back, knowing it maybe wasn’t going to be universally acclaimed, no matter how successful I had been.
“But they had the foresight and the acumen to be able to convince me to come back, and I’m so glad that I did do.
“You then have to deal with those situations, but it’s all worth it. I wouldn’t change it, because it makes me a better coach and a better manager having to go through what I have gone through this season.
“I know that we will be back bigger and stronger for next season.”
