Why Rodgers, Celtic and Desmond's ambitions are 'aligned'

How do you reflect on the celebrations on Wednesday night?

It's a really special time when you win a title and you win it in the way we have done. It was a great performance on Wednesday night. It was everything I wanted in the team, and how we played, and obviously that chance to celebrate with the supporters was special. It was a great evening.

How were the celebrations for you personally?

We had a couple of wee drinks afterwards, went home, watched the game again, and went to bed about 20 to four. It was a long night but a great night, and that's what football is about. It's been a season full of ups and downs but ultimately we came good when it mattered. I think now we're starting to see the real Celtic – probably what people wanted to see at the beginning of the season. We weren't quite at that level then for various reasons, but we certainly have been this past couple of months, building towards this period in the season. That's the most important bit.

What do you expect from the St Mirren game in terms of atmosphere and the reception you will get from the supporters?

I think the atmosphere will be amazing on Saturday. Sometimes you can win these titles with a little bit of time away, and then by the time you get to trophy day, it's still a special day, but it feels as if you'd won the league a lot earlier. This will make it extra special, with having clinched it on Wednesday, and then not having so long to wait for the game. I like us to play well in these moments. It's a celebration, of course, but I want us to play well. There are still three points to play for and finish the season on a real high.

When you watched the game back did it sink in as to how special an occasion it was?

We play and work for the supporters. They are absolutely unrivalled. I've managed other huge clubs, Liverpool [for example], but there are not many other clubs where you'll get that – either after the game, on the field, and then coming away and having that afterwards at the stadium. That's what makes this club so unique. There's a big demand here, there's big expectation, there's massive pressure, it's never an easy job. Nights like that, and moments like that make it worthwhile. The scenes after the game and at the stadium are really special, and I think Saturday will be really special as well. We're looking forward to it.  

How do you reflect on the personal journey you have been on this season as Celtic manager?

I'm not made of wood. We all have feelings, and we're all obviously built in different ways. I feel that I can deal with pressure and those situations, but it still doesn't make me immune to everything. But I think what experience has given me is not to become too emotional with words, and there have been lots of that. I can trace back to August whenever the headlines were around, that I was under massive pressure. This was only the 26th of August. That's continued right the way through with various people having their say. Listen, that's the modern world in this game. For me, I had to show mental strength like the team has had to do, and eventually, the work that we do, and the processes we have in place have all come through in the end. And that's why we create habits every single day so that it becomes us. For me, it's no different. It's been a challenging season in ways I didn't think it would be. I knew it was going to be a little bit awkward, but one or two things surprised me which you have to deal with and deal with the best you can. Ultimately, I'm paid here to win and to develop a team to play a certain way that the fans want, and ultimately obviously this last period we can see that now.

In all your years as a manager how testing was it when your tactics and style of play were questioned? How tough was that?

It’s a challenge that’s there, but I think on a day-to-day basis, no. I drive up here to work every morning absolutely full of joy. 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 bringing me back, 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 like you said, 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.

Do these challenges make it sweeter when you come out on top?

I suppose it’s satisfying, is what you would say. I feel very satisfied with the work we’ve been able to do. It’s surprising a little bit that so many people maybe didn’t see what was happening around the team, that was the biggest surprise for me. And especially having been here before, knowing how my teams operate, knowing how they play, knowing how they attack, knowing that was always the intention. It’s not a full-out attack. I like to think of my teams, if you think of a top boxer, a top boxer isn’t throwing punches all the time, he has to put his guard up now and again and I think my teams are reflective of that. They attack, they’re aggressive, they score goals, we try to defend well. And clearly, there was a reason why it maybe wasn’t functioning the same. It certainly wasn’t that I’d lost the hunger, or was going through the motions, or hadn’t the stomach for the fight, which is what some people were saying. That’s people who don’t know me. So, it’s been very satisfying, but it’s all about creating a habit and the players have been brilliant in creating those habits. And eventually, we get our reward.

You mentioned Dermot Desmond did you speak to him? Does it help that you have that relationship with him and you can plan for the future?

That’s always the case. We had a really positive board meeting this morning. So we’re planning and looking forward and that’s always the case.

Will next season be a better starting point for you?

 Yeah, we’re back to zero, hopefully. Listen, it’s not been easy – for everyone – not just me. There’s been a bit of a surreal feeling around it all. I think as we’ve gone along, you built 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 storyline that’s been created. It’s some benchmark that we’ve set. We have a cup final which I’m so excited about.

You stated in the January window that you wanted the club to be braver in the transfer market in the future. Is that something that you are all now on the same page with?

I’m pretty sure that will be the case but that’s not for now. We’ll have all summer to talk about the transfers and everything else. We’re very clear on what it is that we need to do to improve. The club works in a way that allows it to be sustainable. We also want to progress in the field. That’s something that we’ll all be aligned with.

It is Joe Hart's final game at Celtic Park tomorrow. How big an impact has he had at the club? How big has he been for you and how do you view his career?

I was really looking forward to coming in and working with Joe. I know when he came here, I thought it would be a great move for him because he hadn't been playing so much and his career was probably not moving as he would have wanted. He has come here and been reinvigorated. He is just such a great guy. At 37 years of age, he comes in every day to try and impress and let people judge him like it's his first ever day. He has been a real leader in the changing room, with Callum. Callum has been absolutely incredible as a captain but you need people alongside you as well to drive the messages through and Joe has been very strong in that. He will be sorely missed because he is a good guy. And I know after he finishes he will look back on this spell and see it as a huge positive for him. He is loved and adored by the supporters, they see he is a genuine guy who has given his all to Celtic. Let's hope in these next couple of games we can finish off his story and he can go off into the sunset a successful and legendary Celt.

Have you tried to talk him out of the decision?

No, I think it's the time. I have had this before, I had it with Jamie Carragher. Jamie was my best centre-half at 35 years of age. When he was in the team, he was so good. He gave the team what it lacked in my first season there. It was a similar thing, there were two other centre-halves in front of him, he was in his last year, seeing out his career, but I saw Carra in training every day and the qualities he had. So when I put him on the team, he made it better. But by the end he was ready, he was going into his role on Sky, and he finished on a high. Joe is exactly the same, he will have a successful career outside of what he is doing, but he is finishing it in the way that you would want to as a player - going out strong, going out a winner.

How do you keep the hunger in the squad?

Well, that's clearly the job of ourselves as managers and coaches to drive that but it's also something that's ingrained in this football club. You arrive here and get to understand very quickly the demands, expectations and history of this club. The history you have had wherever you have been before doesn't matter when you come here. You have got to come in here and perform. But you have got to perform with humility. This is a club that demands that you play with expectation and pressure but you have to have the humility to work hard every day. That's a habit that has been set and you have to embrace that if you want to become a winner. That doesn't change, you only have to look at the record of this club over the last couple of decades, in particular this decade, that whatever coach or manager is here, that installation of belief and demand is within this squad, and that's something that will continue.

James Forrest doesn't have a dedicated song to him what more does he have to do?

He needs to beat Billy McNeill’s record! If he does that, he might get a song. I’m surprised he doesn’t have one. There are clever guys in the stands who make up the words. He certainly deserves it. What a player, he’s been absolutely magnificent for us. His record is remarkable. The likes of him and Callum are stalwarts for this club, they do their talking on the pitch and class acts off it. They are real ambassadors for the club. Looking back to 2016 when I came in and he was maybe on the way out. He was outstanding in that period. He’s maybe not played as much since I came back, with younger guys taking his place. You have to give them a chance. But you quickly conclude he’s our best winger. Okay, he may not be able to do some of the things he did six or seven years ago, but there’s a lot he can do and we’ve seen that in this last period. He’s been a real catalyst for this team. All the experienced players have been, they’ve really taken the games by the scruff of the neck.

What has been your stand-out moment this season?

There have been loads. The final whistle the other night was the highlight, being champions again and seeing the joy it’s given so many people. It just gives the hunger and motivation for the next trophy.

Would you like to see clubs vote on VAR like they are doing down south? Can Willie Collum in his new role improve the process?

Willie has fantastic experience and he’s going into the role having been live in the situations. It’s not VAR that’s the problem, it’s the implementation of it. I just think they somehow need to find a way to have professional referees, to help in the education of the referees here. It’s then about how we fund it. The guys get a bit of stick up here as they do everywhere, but in fairness to them, they are not full-time. That’s not their fault if they are part-time referees doing their best in professional games where there are high stakes. If there can be more funding to support, develop and help the referees, that would be great – and it would aid the VAR. It’s always important to keep having that dialogue.

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