The Celtic manager may not want Rangers to seriously challenge his Celtic side but, as he prepares for a trip to Ibrox, there have been indications he needs more to sustain himA wider desperation for Rangers to create a title race in Scotland has not been difficult to trace in the past week. Whereas the noncompetitive nature of a league that has been won by Celtic for the last six years is alarming in itself, there is a depressing element to the narrative whereby only the Old Firm must dominate the Scottish game in supplying something akin to a natural order.Brendan Rodgers has indulged in some traditional managerial sport by insisting there is “huge pressure” on in-form Rangers as they...
Former Liverpool manager had the courage to join a one-horse race at Parkhead and after wrapping up the Scottish Premiership title has a rare Treble in his sightsThat retaining the Scottish title was a given for Brendan Rodgers when he took control at Celtic should not detract from the manner of that accomplishment. The fans will cherish a sixth title in a row – and well they might. The approach of the Celtic players from the first minute of this season, added to memory of the 1990s when those supporters looked on as Rangers lorded it over all and sundry, will contribute to worthwhile celebration. Related: Five-star Celtic dispatch Hearts to secure Scottish Premiership title Continue reading...
The Celtic manager has been quick to assess the wider picture in Scottish football and he has the chance to claim his first silverware against his side’s closest challengersBrendan Rodgers does not need the Scottish League Cup as endorsement of his early work at Celtic. Champions League qualification afforded Rodgers instant acclaim, to the point where even finishing bottom of Group C will be accepted by the masses.Rodgers smiles when contemplating what might have been, in the event of falling at the Champions League’s playoff hurdle. “You start behind the eight ball,” he says. “You are tight behind it. If we don’t qualify and then go on to win a league and cup what is said is ‘You didn’t make...
Chelsea and Manchester City have adopted this formation but it was a fraught night in Basel that caused the former Liverpool manager to set a growing trendIn a modern world in which style so often matters more than substance – and at times neither seems to matter much at all – moments of significance can be lost amid the swirl. It’s easy to dismiss Brendan Rodgers’ last full season at Liverpool: the ineffectiveness of Mario Balotelli, the falling out with Raheem Sterling, the final-day humiliation at Stoke … and yet it also included a nugget of genuine tactical innovation. It’s not to say that Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola or Serbia’s Slavoljub Muslin have copied Rodgers or have in any way...
The manager may have added to the pressure on the former No1 for Manchester City’s visit, given the goalkeeper has been left short of first-team actionShould Brendan Rodgers succeed where José Mourinho did not, namely by spending post-match time in the company of Pep Guardiola, the pair will find common ground.The key similarity relates to goalkeeping matters. Guardiola’s consigning of Joe Hart to the substitutes’ bench and subsequently Torino was high profile on account of the England No1’s status but Rodgers has taken controversial steps of his own. Related: Pep Guardiola tells Manchester City to ignore ‘little record’ at Celtic Continue reading...