"It wasn't a nostalgic move... I'm here to win going forward!"

The words of Brendan Rodgers when he was unveiled as Celtic manager in June 2023. He's still winning both on and off the field by the looks and sounds of it.

Rodgers doesn't do nostalgia. He's too long in the managerial tooth for all that malarkey. Although the Irishman has mellowed all right. However, he may be forgiven for thinking that the more things change the more things stay the same right? He told us all when he revealed in the preview to the St Mirren match on Friday how he coped with his so-called frustrations at Celtic's dealings in the transfer market.

The 51-year-old said: “I’ve been here before. I can deal with it better now. It doesn’t make me any less ambitious”.

Rodgers can read mood music, perfectly. Ironically the song straight from the stands in Paisley at the weekend could well have been: 'Same old transfer window, same old Celtic!' The mood in the Celtic supporting camp has been one of huge frustration at the club's apparent lack of signings in the transfer window thus far.

It was no hyperbole to say that Rodgers gave a masterclass as he addressed the media in the aftermath of Sunday's 3-0 win over St Mirren that put the champions back to the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Rodgers entered the media room allegedly staring down the barrel of a season-defining week for Celtic with the last days of the transfer window, the Champions League draw and the first Glasgow derby of the season to contend with. He took it all in his managerial stride.

There was a point last season when Rodgers talked about applying 'scoreboard pressure' on rivals Rangers ahead of the final derby game of the season as Celtic had the chance to increase their lead at the top of the table for 24 hours before their rivals took to the field.

If you substitute the words 'scoreboard pressure' for 'transfer window pressure' the Celtic manager subtly, cleverly and quite brilliantly applied his own form of 'pressure' to the club hierarchy by insisting they leap into action and sign some players before the August 30th deadline.

In true 'Mr Benn' style: 'As if by magic (not so much the shopkeeper) the money appeared.'

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Rodgers said: "It's a very important week for us. In terms of the context of next week [Rangers], we're in a really, really good place. Over the context of the season, it's really important for us. As a football club, we want to develop, we want to improve.

"We can't be happy just to make our money and build our pot because the bottom line is on the pitch. That's the bottom line. The supporters pay the money. I look back to the COVID times here, the Celtic supporters sold the stadium out and they weren't allowed in it.

"So we have a duty to put the best team on the pitch. That's what we'll do and look to do. It's taken a bit longer than I would have liked. If we can do it by Friday, and strengthen the squad, we'll be in a really, really good place. The team is in a good place, mentally, and tactically, how they're playing. We want to strengthen and have that depth.

"It's taken a lot longer than I would have liked as the football manager. That's my brutally honest answer to it. I will repeat this. If we get them in, then there's still a long season ahead. So it's important that we do get that. I have a belief that we will do."

Back over the net to the Celtic board. What a riposte it was. Rodgers piled on his version of 'scoreboard pressure' without any hint of frustration. It is safe to say to assume the way Celtic go about the business of recruitment will fall sharply under the Rodgers microscope very soon after the transfer window closes.

His words were spoken with the air of a man who knew things were happening or were going to happen. A man of authority. A leader. Rodgers never forgets that he is the ultimate fans' representative at the club. He was even self-depreciatory enough to crack a joke during the unfortunate mobile phone ringing incident which saw Rodgers bellow out: "Is that Michael (Nicholson) on the phone! Shut him up, shut him up!" It was classic Rodgers.

He played to the gallery at that moment but amidst the humour was the more serious point that he had spent the best part of three transfer windows driving home. If Rodgers is to take the club to the level and heights that he wishes to reach then Celtic needs to invest in quality players. This was Rodgers at his spellbinding and glorious box-office best.

It is a huge week for Celtic and Rodgers challenged those above him to back him in the market and give him what he wants...again! Having raked in a Scottish record transfer fee for the sale of Matt O'Riley to English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, Rodgers was making sure that the board were going to dip deep and fund his needs during the rest of the window.

No sooner had the words left Rodgers' mouth on Sunday evening when left-back Alex Valle was preparing to fly to Glasgow for a medical to join on a season-long loan from Barcelona. By Monday morning the club had lodged an initial £6.5 million bid for Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels which was rejected. Although personal terms have been agreed with the Belgian it looks like a matter of time before Celtic clinch a deal.

Lazio's Gustav Isaksen was also linked with a loan move with an option to buy but it turned out he wanted to stay and fight for his place with the Serie A men. Talks with Polish Mateusz Bogusz were also ongoing as Celtic weighed up a potential transfer for the LA FC midfielder. Bournemouth central defender Chris Mepham appeared back on the club's radar as Celtic socials went viral awash with rumours and speculation of impeding transfer activity over the next few days.

(Image: Social Media)

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'As if by magic the money appeared'.

Rodgers gave a masterclass to those who were privileged to witness it in Paisley. He has played an absolute blinder here. What he does know, because he told the BBC is that: "Come Friday, we'll have improved the squad."

The new mellow Rodgers now has the Celtic supporters eating out of his hand. If the Celtic hierarchy doesn't deliver in the days that are left in the summer transfer window the supporters will know exactly who is to blame for that. It won't be Rodgers. Just ask chairman Peter Lawwell his thoughts on that score after yesterday's unsavoury episode in Paisley with the rank-and-file Celtic support that went viral on social media.

Speaking of deals, here's another one that should be high on the list of Celtic's signing agenda - the manager. The men in suits at Celtic should be delving into the drawer and nailing Rodgers down to a longer-term deal way past his current three-year term. No Celtic board member should be allowed to leave the room until it is signed, sealed and delivered. Why?

The Celtic boss is currently the only thing that is world-class about the whole football operation at the club. Moving forward with Rodgers at the Celtic managerial helm the club certainly has a great chance of being successful.

Rodgers may well have mellowed with age but he has also evolved as a manager. His message to the higher-ups writ bold and large post-Paisley press conference was that if Celtic were to keep winning and being successful then the club would need to evolve some of their business practices. Player recruitment and transfer window business immediately springs to mind.

If the Celtic jersey does not shrink for inferior players then the same rules should apply within the club's hierarchy. The boardroom table doesn't shrink for inferior members. No, Rodgers didn't come back to Celtic for nostalgia reasons. He just happens to like winning. It's a little over a year on from when Rodgers' Celtic second homecoming was treated with heavy suspicion. Oh, how the mood music has altered down Glasgow's east end. In Brendan They Trust.

Rodgers has united almost every faction at the club largely with his managerial deeds but also with his deployment of words. The new mellow version of the Celtic manager has had to do it the hard way but he has earned the Celtic supporters' trust all over again.

The Celtic hierarchy has less than four days to do likewise. That's why going all in on their manager would be viewed as the ultimate statement of intent. It would also ensure that both Rodgers and Celtic keep winning...going forward, of course.

Rodgers' ambitions for Celtic to succeed at all levels of competition burn as bright as ever. It's over to the board to deliver and not to douse the flames.