Why Rodgers is too intelligent to fall into Celtic 'revenge' trap

Speaking after being nominated for the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award, he said: “If he (Rodgers) trusts you then you have the freedom to express yourself to show your true self on the pitch and I feel I've been able to do that this season. It's been really good. I think I've learned more than ever. I’ve been more open-minded, which has allowed me to learn a lot more.

"When things have been tough I’ve been able to bounce back quicker and manage situations better. I was never closed-minded but maybe took things more to heart or more personally last season. I’ve done a lot of mental work and just have a stronger sense of self-identity. I’ve been more open to information."

He was calm. He was cool. He was confident. He was measured. He was informative. In truth, he was a mirror image of his manager.

READ MORE: Why Celtic's Matt O'Riley finds the title race 'fun'

O'Riley has answered Rodgers's call and then some. At the beginning of the season, the manager urged him to add goals to his armoury because it was the one quality lacking from his game. The Danish international has delivered.

He has 14 goals and 16 assists in 44 appearances in all competitions this season, not far short of eclipsing his total of 15 goals and 22 assists in one and a half campaigns under Ange Postecoglou. It means his stock is predictably high.  La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid had a bid rejected outright by the Celtic hierarchy in January. Now Italian giants Inter Milan are the latest top-level club to put him on their radar.

Those are the sort of names that set a player's heart aflutter but that's for another time. For now, there are important hurdles to jump, not least a Hearts team who under Steven Naismith have bloodied the nose of the champions on two occasions in the league this season.

Back in December, the Edinburgh men ended their long wait for victory in Glasgow's east end when Naismith's side stunned the champions to win 2-0 courtesy of goals from Lawrence Shankland and Stephen Kingsley. It was the capital club's first away win over Celtic since 2009 and it consigned Rodgers's team to successive league defeats after a 2-1 defeat to Kilmarnock at Rugby Park six days previous. It also opened the title door to Rangers who trailed the league leaders by five points but now had two games in hand.

Fast forward to early March and Hearts were at it again as they beat 10-man Celtic in a VAR-dominated encounter to prevent the defending champions returning to the top of the Scottish Premiership. It was a day when Adam Idah had an early penalty saved and Korean winger Yang Hyun-jun was initially booked for a high boot on Alex Cochrane but it was upgraded to a red card on review. Jorge Grant then put the hosts in front from a VAR-awarded spot-kick before team-mate Lawrence Shankland settled the issue with a second-half effort. Celtic remained two points behind Rangers, whose loss at home to Motherwell 24 hours earlier, had supposedly opened the door for Rodgers' team.

READ MORE: Rangers 'fear factor' called out by Celtic hero in title prediction

Contrary to popular belief, Celtic are not on a revenge mission against the Jambos at Parkhead on Saturday. This is why the words of their former boss Postecoglou should reverberate around the home dressing room come kick-off time. The Aussie had his own interesting thoughts on football revenge missions. Quite simply he didn't believe in them.

He said in 2023: “I get it. I don’t think it’s unique to this city but there is a real fixation on 'you have to hate' and 'you have to want revenge' and 'you have to be vindictive'. It just doesn’t get my juices going.

“I get so much more excited by beating teams I think are really good and are managed by managers I respect who are on the top of their game. That is what gets me going.

“I don’t need words or to hate the opposition or the opposition manager to get motivated. It is not what drives me. I have been pretty clear about what is going to motivate this group of players – it is about rising to the challenge of being the best football team you can be on a weekly basis.

“If you need these extra things to get motivated, that is where you fall into the trap. You are going to have off weeks. What happens when somebody doesn’t get you motivated because they haven’t said anything nasty about you? It is just not the way I am wired.

“That is part of the landscape here. But, for me, I get really motivated by trying to be the best. If I’m up against an opponent I think is good, then I am up for that contest.”

If O'Riley and the rest of the Celtic players who served under Postecoglou are smart then they will not have forgotten these words. They should be burned into some of the Celtic players before they even take to the field against the men in maroon.

If Rodgers is smart - and we know he is - then one would suggest that as part of his build-up this week he will have shown the players the re-runs of both domestic losses to Hearts as well as a repeat of Celtic destroying Hearts 4-1 at Tynecastle back in October. That triumph in the capital was one of the few league highs that Rodgers's men have enjoyed this season. The football on display that day was sublime. It's a perfect expression of what Celtic are capable of.

READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers' Celtic 'narrative' quip addressed

It was theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who once said: "Weak people revenge. Strong people forgive. Intelligent People Ignore." If O'Riley's conduct, demeanour and words this week regarding Rodgers and the title race are anything to go by then the Celtic dressing room is full of intelligent people.  The hyperbole surrounding Saturday's fixture will see it labelled as Celtic's most important game of the season. It is but intelligent people will ignore the hyperbole.

Celtic know that victory over Hearts would see them move six points clear of their title rivals for 24 hours at least. The pendulum of pressure would then swing right back across the city to Govan and the men in Light Blue would have to get a result against Kilmarnock.

So Celtic are not on a revenge mission - but don't take Postecoglou or Einstein's word for it. Let's take the words of a different man by the name of Francis, shall we?

One Francis Albert Sinatra, who said: "The best revenge is massive success." He wasn't wrong. 

For those who weren't paying attention, Rodgers signposted his intent at Fir Park back in February. After a last-gasp 3-1 win against Motherwell, Rodgers said: "There's a story being written about this group, but we will write our own story." It was Rodgers' quietly crooning his version of 'My Way'. Thankfully with four league games to play O'Riley and Co. all seem to be well in tune with the songs sung by their masterful manager.