Brendan Rodgers Discussion Thread

Scenes when Moussa comes home and tells everyone he meant Lawwell Snr all along.

 

Aw ffs I remind that story

 

I still can't go over that Patsy story turning out real

 

Highlights difference in Rodgers approach. (more hands on and open).

 

O'Riley seems happy enough.

 

Still feels mental seeing him in a Celtic training top

 

Bet he hired someone

 

Joe Hart insists he can't wait to work under Brendan Rodgers as he paid tribute to former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou.

The Treble-winners returned to Lennoxtown for pre-season training as they met Rodgersfor the first time since the Northern Irishman's return. Rodgers addressed his new squad of players on day one and told them how he aims to build on last season's clean sweep.


Hart faced ex-Liverpool gaffer Rodgers during his time at Manchester City and admits he has huge respect for the 50-year-old. Speaking today, he said: "We've only been together a couple of days down. But look, he's an exceptional guy. I've had run ins with him in the past as an opponent, I actually bumped into him a few times on holiday. He's a lovely person, first and foremost, which is very important.

He's very successful with a huge drive and he's laid it on the line. He actually stood here in front of us and let us know how proud he was about what we did last year, but that was last year, and we now have to build on it and try and improve and push each other.


He's super positive, you can tell that he absolutely loves the club. If he was to take his managerial hat off, he's a Celtic fan but he's made it very clear that he's able to separate business and pleasure and we're here to work.

"We're here to be successful, push each other, try and get the best out of each other. He wants to push the young guys, he wants the older guys to help. They are very clear messages and I'm really excited to work under him."

 

We getting a presser from big BR today?

 

Not bad! The journos are good!

 

He returned to some familiar faces and some new faces, and among the familiar sights on Brendan Rodgers’ return were three very important pieces of silverware – the Treble that was part of the furniture thanks to his managerial talents in his first spell at the club is back in Paradise for the fifth time since he first arrived.

And the Treble was only part of the welcoming committee when the Irishman returned not only to Celtic Park, but to Lennoxtown.

Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV, he said: “It feels like coming back to family, if I’m honest.

"I’ve been given a great welcome back and it’s been great to see a lot of faces, obviously that were here when I was here the last time, so it feels really good.”

The manager returns with Glen Driscoll to join backroom Bhoys John Kennedy, Stevie Woods, Gavin Strachan and Harry Kewell, and the Irishman is relishing working with the team behind the team.

He said: “Obviously just coming in here with Glen, who has worked with me at all my clubs, I knew John. John is an outstanding coach and fantastic person, and he really complements my teaching of the game.

“So I knew John really, really well and I know that I can trust him with everything. Our view of the game is very much the same, so it’s been great to come back and work with him.

“Woodsy, again I know and is an outstanding goalkeeping coach, and Gavin and Harry who I didn’t know so well, but both of those guys are really passionate about coaching, really passionate about developing players and it’s a really strong coaching team.”

And he’s also been impressed with the results of that coaching team on the players he has run the rule over at Lennoxtown prior to the return of the international Celts.

He said: “Normally, now in the modern game, very rarely do you get your players back at the one time.

“So that always gives you a chance to see the young players, and I’ve got to say I’ve been really impressed with, both the established guys in the first-team squad.

"They’ve been excellent, their attitude is outstanding and they’ve come back in really, really good condition, so they are back already fit that gives us the chance to really build on that, and the young players.

“Of course a lot of them I haven’t known and they’ve been pleasantly surprising and really, really good. Sometimes a young player can come in and suffer with the intensity of training with the first team, but they’ve all coped really, really well and that’s been pleasing.





The intensity will soon be joined by heat next week as the Celts jet out to Portugal for the continuation of their pre-season sessions, and the manager well knows that the players have to hit the ground running.

The Irishman said: "I think the next block of two weeks will be a punishing schedule with the heat, but we need to get our work in and that’s what pre-season is for.

'We want to play attacking aggressive football and in order to do that you obviously need to be very good, but you also need to be very fit.'

“So building up that base over the course of this pre-season is very important, and the point I made to the players is it starts on day one.

“When you’re looking to reclaim the winning mentality you have to come back from the very first day and give everything, and that’s what the players have done so far.”

One of the internationalists that will kick-start their pre-season in Portugal is skipper, Callum McGregor.

The manager said: We had a really strong relationship the last time I was here. I’ve seen him grow, I’ve seen his personality grow on the field and he was very much beside Scott Brown in my first time here.

“Just to see him continue to grow and evolve, and now being the great ambassador he is for the club as well as player, I’m really proud to see that development.

'So I’m really looking forward to working with Cal. He’s a brilliant player, he communicates so well for the club, for his team-mates and I have to say he was one of the big reasons for coming back.

"When I had the lunch with him and we spoke about Celtic, I could see the determination in his eyes to keep achieving and that made me really think about going back to help him and support the team.

“Because that’s why we all exist. We all exist here at Celtic to help the players achieve and when they achieve, then the supporters are happy.”

 

Going to be a very exciting and very pleasing Season!!

 

Brendan Rodgers returns to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium with Celtic for the first time since playing Barcelona in the International Champions’ Cup in 2016, and the manager is looking to reward the thousands of Irish fans who travel across the sea to watch the Hoops play home and away every week during the season.

He has been in Dublin with the Celts since then, to play a friendly against Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium, and with this return to the Aviva to play Wolves in a game that was originally scheduled to be played in Korea, the manager feels they couldn’t have chosen a better place for the re-arranged meeting.

The manager said: “It’s great, when I saw the Wolves game on the schedule when it was going to be in Korea, I always felt that was a really good opponent for us.

'Obviously, it was sad that the Korean leg of the tour was cancelled, but we couldn’t have asked for it to be in a better place - it’s so important for a club like Celtic.'

“You travel the world, it’s a worldwide institution and in these pre-seasons now when you’re not having qualification games, I think it’s great when you can take Celtic. and the club that it is. to other countries, but to take it to Ireland of course, being Irish is just really special.”


He added: “There are thousands of supporters every single week, they make a huge sacrifice financially, with time, everything, because Celtic is their life and for lots of supporters it ends up being nearly a 24-hour trip, just to get across to Scotland to watch the games and back again

‘So to be able to reward those supporters and bring the team across to Ireland is really, really special and I’ll look forward to that.’

“And the Aviva is a brilliant stadium. Obviously I’ve been there before and took the team there, so I’m looking forward to it.”

 

Brendan Rodgers reckons Celtic players must be 'uncomfortable' in pre-season to achieve the standard he wants to set for the Treble winners.

The Irishman is putting his squad through a gruelling warm weather training camp in the searing heat of Portugal, with temperatures reaching up to 32 degrees celsius. Celticturned out in a friendly against Portimonense in a 0-0 draw as Rodgers introduces his renewed group to the standard of football fans were used to in his first spell. His predecessor Ange Postecoglou employed an all-out attacking style and Rodgers admits he will tweak the foundations of the style to meet his ultimate 'vision' for the campaign.


But the coach is well aware of the challenges the defending champions will face from across the city and the world-beating sides they will have to conquer in the Champions Leaguegroup stages. But he levied what is to come with a reminder that being the standard bearers comes with a certain level of discomfort his squad are used to.



He told Celtic TV: "The players and the staff are the priority for me at this point of the season. The trip has been very well organised, trying to ensure we can set the standard early on. The mentality of everyone has been superb. We're working the players really hard because it's so hot but we're really getting them uncomfortable because that's what is needed at this stage of pre-season


It's a real challenge coming out to this heat and work with that intensity. We have to be mindful of course, we can never put them in danger because it is so hot. But the mentality has been superb from the first day. I expect them to get uncomfortable and we're really pushing them to get a base of fitness for an exciting and challenging season ahead.

I have a vision which isn't too dissimilar to the method and stylistically how the team has played, there are and there will be adaptions to that. To be out there on the field, I'm very much a hands-on coach.


It's felt really good coming back but my job here is to win. But this pre-season is about putting those foundations in place to do that...we have to prepare for everything whilst we're in this stage. So that we're ready for anything when the season comes.