Brendan Fraudgers!

Martin O'Neill tells Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers to savour every minute



Martin O’Neill has told Brendan Rodgers to savour the “glorious intensity” of the Hoops job.

O’Neill, who led the club to only the third domestic Treble in their history in 2001 and took the club to the UEFA Cup final in 2003, has spoken to Rodgers since the former Liverpool manager was given the Parkhead job back in June.

And while the Republic of Ireland dismissed any suggestion that he had offered any advice to Rodgers, he did tell his fellow countryman to enjoy the full-on nature of the position.

“Brendan called me after he had got the job,” explained O’Neill. “He is long enough in the tooth to know exactly what he wants to do at Celtic and I wouldn’t be in the business of dispensing advice to anyone. Not that they would take it anyway.

“But all I said to Brendan was that it is a mighty job. The one thing about it is the glorious intensity of it. That is all. It is not like anywhere else and you know what? He will enjoy every minute of that.


“Honestly, there is simply no other way than to immerse yourself in the club and relish the spotlight that comes with the job. You are on all the time. The games are fast and the pressure is absolute and he will thrive on that, I am sure.”

O’Neill has watched as Rodgers’ has been successful in his inaugural mission of taking the Parkhead club into the group stages of the UEFA Champions League after a three year absence from the elite tournament.

The Republic of Ireland manager was the first Celtic boss to take the club into the Champions League and O’Neill is well aware of just what participation in the competition means to the club – and to the supporters.

“I didn’t speak to Brendan before he was given the job but we spoke afterwards. I was delighted when I saw that he had got through the qualifiers because it really lights the whole season up, having those nights in the Champions League,” said the Irishman.



“In some ways it feels like there is no time to enjoy it. The pace is furious and the season starts with a bang when you have the games on your plater to get into the Champions League. The supporters will be loving it, absolutely loving it.

“You feel that energy. You feel that willingness, the belief in you. The Celtic supporters are special people. They will be right behind Brendan now. I always felt that the Champions League nights and the big European nights under the floodlights were very similar to the games against Rangers – there is just something different in the air for them.

“You can sense the desire and the exuberance from the crowd. The atmosphere is fantastic and while I don’t give anyone any pointers, the only thing I would say is enjoy it. Savour every minute.”

 

Dunno if this was posted

from the herald:

“IT’S an Old Firm game. Nobody starts as favourites as the form book goes out the window. There’s no doubt Rangers will be our closest challengers for the title this season but Mark Warburton is one of my closest friends and I look forward to catching up with him afterwards for a pint.” In an engaging and revealing 30-minute address ahead of his first match against Rangers as Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers notably said none of the above.

How devoted he was to the Celtic cause as a boy growing up in Northern Ireland is a matter of conjecture, but Rodgers undoubtedly knows his history. Whether schooled by relatives or having picked up the more pertinent points later in life, he is shrewd enough to appreciate both the past significance of the Rangers fixture and how, in the eyes of many Celtic fans, it has evolved in the modern era. Intentionally or otherwise, not once in conversation did Rodgers use the phrase “Old Firm”. He did not dally long on the perennially thorny matter on whether Rangers are/aren’t a new club following their financial traumas of 2012 but, instructively, he revealed he would not take issue with any Celtic fan taking the stance that Saturday’s game is the first league meeting between the two clubs.

“I can respect that there will be different views in terms of how they [Rangers] are held and how they created the club, but for me it’s a Celtic versus Rangers game and it’s a big game,” he said. “It always has been. Celtic and Rangers games are always big games. I’ll be told [all about it] during the week by uncles, brothers and relatives. I know what it means to the supporters and I know what it means to us in terms of our objectives this season.

“I’ve never been to one. But obviously I’ve watched them over the course of many years. At the time I was growing up you had the Troubles in Northern Ireland, so my parents would never have allowed me to travel over on the boat for clear reasons. But I watched them on the telly and I listened to them on the radio. So, yes, they’re very emotional games.”


Not that Rodgers expects to succumb to the madness that regularly descends whenever Celtic and Rangers go toe to toe. He has stood on the touchline during Swansea versus Cardiff derbies and experienced Liverpool’s local rivalries with both Everton and Manchester United, and insists he has remained a figure of stoic pragmatism despite the mayhem unfolding in front of him. He will not know for certain just how he will react come high noon on Saturday but, from a week’s distance, he hopes not to lose that sense of dead-eyed detachment lest his managerial judgment become clouded.

“No, I’m not that way,” he insisted. “I try to control that on a human level. Of course you jump about and get a bit excited at times. But I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in that way. There have been games like Liverpool versus Everton where Moyesie [David Moyes] and I came in and went 'what happened there?' It’s a whirlwind, it just goes so fast.”

Celtic will start the game as favourites and, refreshingly, Rodgers did not try to wave that claim away or tone it down with false modesty. The gap between the two clubs has stretched since his appointment in May and, combined with Rangers’ sluggish start to the season, most signs are pointing to a Celtic victory. Rangers’ triumph in last season’s William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final will serve as a warning but Rodgers was happy to acknowledge his team’s superiority ahead of this meeting.


“Are we wary of the favourites tag? Not really. I’d say going into this game there’s probably a wee bit of justification in it. The proof is there for that. But they are always dangerous games. It doesn't matter how well one team is doing and how badly the other team is doing. I remember a Liverpool- Everton game when Roberto Martinez was in charge. They were on a real high, hadn’t won at Anfield for so long and it was deemed that this was going to be the game. And we won 4-0. But I think with justification people can look at the [Celtic] team at the moment and see a real vibrancy, an energy, and an aggression in the team. I'm happy with it.”

The outcome of the four Old Firm league games used to regularly decide the destiny of the championship. Now Rodgers isn’t certain that will be the case. In fact, he was unsure whether Rangers would be the team most likely to run Celtic closest for the title.

“I don’t know - we haven’t played all the teams yet,” he said. “I can give you a better idea later. The teams we have played were all in the top four last year. Rangers are coming up as champions of the Championship so they are coming in to a league where Aberdeen are well-organised and strong, where Hearts are committed and have good players, and where St Johnstone are not an easy team to play. I’ll have a better idea over the course of the first half of the season.”

Another part of the narrative this season has been the reunion of Warburton and Rodgers, the pair having previously worked together at Watford when Rodgers was the manager and Warburton was the head of the club’s youth academy. The Celtic manager, though, played down the significance of their relationship, instead pointing out that the peripatetic nature of the professional game meant bumping into former colleagues is an increasingly common occurrence.


“We worked together for seven months but before that I never knew him,” he said of Warburton, while also confirming the Rangers manager’s revelation that Rodgers used to write his training drills in Spanish. “He’s a friend and a colleague and in the same profession so I respect that like I do all managers. We’ve had little bits of contact since we worked together, but there are probably closer friendships in the game. He’s a good guy, a good man and he’s done well since he came up here.

“I spoke to him early on when I came up here and then you get into the season. I also worked with Frank McParland [Rangers’ head of recruitment] for a period of time and probably know Frank better than Mark because we worked together at Liverpool. Davie Weir [Rangers’ assistant manager] came to see me when I was coaching at Liverpool and he was out of the game.

“I gave Jordan Rossiter his debut, he’s a good kid, Danny Wilson I had, Rob Kiernan I gave a debut to at Watford. Graeme Murty [Rangers’ new under-20 coach] was my right back at Reading. So it’s funny, the older you get the more people you realise you know from working at various teams.”


Just three days after facing Rangers, Rodgers takes his team to Barcelona for their opening Champions League group game. The notion that the Nou Camp may also be in his mind was quickly dismissed. “I only look at the next game. That’s always been the mantra for me. I never look too far ahead.” It was the only cliché of an otherwise enlightening conversation.

 

Cheers Crow * love Martin O'Neill guy is a Celtic legend

 

aye love Martin.

 

Rodgers on Upcoming Glasgow Derby


https://vimeo.com/181773926









BRENDAN Rodgers goes into this Saturday’s Glasgow derby knowing full well just what victory will mean to the home fans, and those of a Celtic persuasion watching and listening all over the world.
And despite the level of media attention and interest that is bound to be generated throughout this week ahead of the lunchtime kick-off, the Celtic manager is focused on only one thing – winning for the fans.
Speaking exclusively to this week’s Celtic View ahead of the game, the Hoops boss said: “Derbies are very important for supporters and the team, and the clubs I’ve been at have always had very important games.
“This will be a really passionate game and, of course, you want to win because they give a real good feeling to the supporters. They can go into work the next day and be proud that their team has done well. Having watched and listened to these games over many years then I understand what it means to the Celtic support.
“We’re really looking forward to it, we’ve had a tremendous start to the season, the break has come at a good time for us and now we go into the next period and look forward. This will be the first game in a really exciting month for us.”
Having sampled derby days at a range of different clubs, the manager is well-versed in all the drama and tension that come with such games but he believes Saturday will be different.
The frantic nature of such fixtures means that there will be little time for the manager to sit back and enjoy the view in his first Glasgow derby as Celtic boss, but he is happy to be focused on doing his job and will gladly watch the game back later, especially if his side emerge victorious.
A win would put the champions four points clear at the top with a game in hand over their city rivals, and the manager added that this fact, as much as anything else, is motivating his team going into Saturday’s match.
“Whenever you get to the top of the league you want to stay there so that’s important. For us, we want to do well, especially at home, no matter who we play,” he said.
“We want to go through the season and have a real good record at home so that will be in our minds but no matter who the opponent is, when you’re at the top of the league you want to stay there. It will be a tough game with big intensity in the game but we’ll look to come through.
“These are always tense weeks and there’s always something that gets chucked out there to try and create the storm but that is part of the excitement of it and obviously we’ll go into the game and be really focused.”

 

You have come to lead the green and white.

 

If I had arms like that, I'd be showing them off all the time, too.

 

Well deserved.

Played 3, Won 3, Scored 10.

All againt very good sides as well. Hearts(A), St Johnstone(A), Aberdeen(H).

 

Brendan is * ripped! what a fine specimen he is.

 

MotM is a curse though.

hose * gave him it for a reason. *.

 

He really is the buffest manager we've had in my lifetime. He is * hench.

 

BR: "It’s another game but it’s a special game. Always keenly fought, tough games but we’re looking forward to it.


BR on @Leighgriff09 fitness: "Leigh wasn’t able to go away with the national team as he’d suffered a bit in the last home game.



BR: "Had a week’s rest, trained with us this week. Today was a light day so there was no need to risk him.


BR: "He had a scan and we’ll see how that is over the next 24 hours.



BR on @kierantierney1 : "He’ll be fine. He has trained this week. He needed a week out but he seems fine, looks fit and strong.



BR on Glasgow derby: "We know it’s an important game but we’ve had three tough games before this as well.


BR: "Hearts, St Johnstone and Aberdeen. Expect another tough game but we are getting better as season goes on.


BR: "Every derby is different. There’s uniqueness to each one and this one is iconic throughout the world.



BR: "The intensity needs to be there in your game but you need to have the cool mind to think in the game.


BR: "When you’re Celtic and you play at home, winning is expected.


BR: "We’re not running away from wanting to be favourites.


BR: "Whoever we play at home, our objective is to win. This is a huge game, but it’s one we want to win well.


BR: "Every game we play at Celtic Park we want to win.


BR on atmosphere at Paradise: "I’ve heard noise at Celtic Park that I haven’t heard anywhere before.



BR: "That’s why players speak so highly of it. With over 60,000 in there and 55,000 cheering for Celtic I’m looking forward to it.

 

[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d_x3TEK_gg8[/ame]

 

No full length video?

Sky as usual show you the minimum.