Timing key if Rodgers wants more than an easy life

Ian Watson

“The sky is blue here in Glasgow and I’m in the best job in the world. I’m absolutely loving it.”

Brendan Rodgers is entitled to feel content right now. The Celtic manager is still basking in the glow of Sunday’s 5-0 thrashing of Rangers which not only inflicted yet more misery on their Old Firm rivals, but was also an entirely fitting way of sealing the SPL title – a seventh consecutive crown for the Bhoys which looks set to form part of an unprecedented double Treble.

Aside from the threat posed by Motherwell ahead of their Scottish Cup final meeting in a few weeks, Rodgers will gleefully tell you he has not a care in the world right now. But if the Hoops boss is as meticulous in his thinking and planning as he would have you believe, there must be a nagging concern somewhere, perhaps towards the back of his mind, about what comes next.

It’s a mentality that, understandably, some Celtic fans would struggle to fathom. The Green Brigade have taken Rodgers to their hearts and helped rebuild the Northern Irishman’s ego, bruised black and blue by the manner of his dismissal from Liverpool and the subsequent and immediate adoration Jurgen Klopp received when he perched his backside in a still-warm Anfield hot seat. “Brendan Rodgers is here for 10 in a row” they sing, but while Celtic appear to be on an unstoppable march towards achieving that milestone, would another three years at Parkhead serve Rodgers’ ambitions?

In fending off questions about his future, Rodgers always insists there is plenty more to do and much more to achieve at Celtic Park, though tangible targets are rarely offered. Domestically, there is little new ground to be broken with maintaining their sheer and absolute dominance Celtic’s only real goal. With Rangers a ‘dire embarrassment’ and no other club north of the border equipped to chip away at Celtic’s supremacy, the Bhoys’ primary threat comes from complacency. As a manager, it’s a thankless task – literally.

Their only challenge comes from within but this side’s place in Celtic’s glorious history appears set. A double Treble would put make them only second to the Lisbon Lions – but that is where they will stay, even with a triple Treble, or by claiming a tenth consecutive title. Europe offers Rodgers and Celtic the only avenue for tangible progress, as he suggested on the day he was appointed, but an unlikely run to the Champions League knock-out stages – a point they have reached twice in the last decade – or an equally unlikely charge at the Europa League would still leave them where they already are. Beating Motherwell at Hampden Park would secure Rodgers’ place in Celtic folklore, but there’s little room for manoeuvre.

It is indisputable that Rodgers has been good for Celtic, but Celtic have been equally good for Rodgers. His Liverpool reign was far from a disaster – it was devastatingly close to glorious success – but the 18 months that followed the Reds’ thrilling title challenge in 2014 left a black mark on his CV. He was axed with Liverpool in tenth place, eight games into a season that followed a sixth-place finish and dismal FA Cup semi-final defeat to Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa. Much of the blame for Liverpool’s slump is attributed to some disastrous recruitment decisions, which Rodgers cannot be held solely accountable for. But, as Jamie Carragher put it at the time: “He’s been there three years, he hasn’t won a trophy and they’ve played Champions League football once. That’s not good enough for Liverpool.”

However harshly, there was the perception that Rodgers, then 43, headed to Glasgow as damaged goods. But it was the perfect job at the perfect time for the former Reading and Swansea boss. As David Pleat put it, Rodgers biggest test was to “not pretend to reinvent football as he did at Liverpool”. The Hoops were already a winning team and the new manager was gifted the opportunity to present himself as a winning coach. Rodgers’ achievements in two seasons certainly now put him in that bracket and he is again being linked with the kind of positions he will deem worthy of his talents.

He was considered by Arsenal, while Chelsea are reported to be keeping an eye on their former reserve team coach. Reports on Tuesday suggest his reluctance to play Charly Musonda and other loanees has hampered his chances of one day returning to Stamford Bridge as manager which, if true, reflects worse on the Blues than Rodgers. But the fact that Rodgers is in contention for such roles highlights the profile given him by Celtic.

Just as important for Rodgers as choosing the right club is the timing of his next move. He has spoken repeatedly about his desire to return to the Premier League and though he feels content in Glasgow with an obligation to repay Celtic, he perhaps has another year or two at the most in the SPL before his star fades in the eyes of the big clubs he feels he should be managing.

If Rodgers was concerned about the looming feeling of unfulfillment, perhaps Rangers have done Celtic fans a favour. The prospect of Steven Gerrard entering the Old Firm fray will intrigue the Celtic boss who, though he would probably not admit it, would likely revel in showing the rookie manager who’s boss in Scotland. The pair’s relationship at Liverpool appeared cordial, but within months of his final game for the Reds, Gerrard stated his belief that Rodgers’ over-confidence proved a fatal flaw in Liverpool’s failed title bid as well as suggesting his treatment at the hands of Rodgers during his final season was “like a classic case of muscle-flexing”. Gerrard was hardly his most damning critic, at least not in public, but Rodgers’ ego will probably identify a score that requires settling.

That would be akin to shooting fish in a barrel. Whether it’s Gerrard or Pep Guardiola, Rangers are not in a position to stop Celtic next term, especially since the Hoops hierarchy are keen to satisfy Rodgers’ drive to strengthen their dominance further still. But he is equally motivated by proving himself and to facilitate that, Rodgers’ next role is unlikely to fall into his lap like the Celtic opportunity.

Another season in Scotland could reinforce a reputation reinvigorated by the Bhoys, but staying for ten in a row would mean picking his next assignment beyond the peak of his desirability to the English and European big hitters.

Ian Watson 

 

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