No one grudges Brendan Rodgers his wee wind-ups, his wee goes at batting the ball back over the net. He took a lot of stick last season.
There were those of us who felt, until Rangers and Philippe Clement came down with an attack of the heebie-jeebies measuring 9.5 on the Richter Scale, that his grand return to Paradise just wasn’t going to work out.
Plenty came from within the Celtic support, who were so brassed-off by the standard of performance at certain stages that even Santa Claus got caught in the crossfire.
Now that pretty much each and every one of them has bought into a most impressive collective commitment to selective amnesia, returning to the view that the Brodge is one of the greatest coaches in Christendom rather than ‘a Judas’ or ‘a snake’ or ‘a fraud’, the Northern Irishman has enjoyed his own little shot at ruffling feathers against such a calm and tranquil backdrop at Parkhead.
Take the build-up to the Old Firm game last week. Presented, during a TV interview, with the statistic that his team had scored 52 goals and was 14 points clear in the league, Rodgers, timing a mischievous smile for maximum comedic effect, said: ‘Not bad for a team that doesn’t play attacking football. It plays very slow and the tempo isn’t there, so we are doing OK.’
It took the mind back to an evening at McDiarmid Park in September when Celtic had just trounced St Johnstone 6-0 and Rodgers commented on the number of goals his side were rattling in.
Celtic’s performance in their 3-0 Old Firm defeat at Ibrox has given Rodgers food for thought
Captain Callum McGregor grimaces as Celtic suffer during their 3-0 defeat at Ibrox
‘Not bad for a team that doesn’t play good football,’ he said back then. ‘I think that’s what we were told last year, wasn’t it? That was the accusation. We were too slow and didn’t play football. We didn’t score enough.’
The jocular tone changed somewhat a few days later when Borussia Dortmund took seven going on 17 off his team in the Champions League.
Likewise, after giving his tried-and-tested one-liners another airing in the wake of the latest thumping of poor old Saints on December 29, a reminder of the perils of getting a little bit ahead of yourself was duly delivered at Ibrox four days later.
As bad as Celtic were in surrendering 3-0 to a Rangers side with a stand-in goalie, their left-back playing at right-back, Dujon Sterling in central defence and a goalscorer in Ianis Hagi, who was told to sling his hook in the summer, this is hardly crisis time.
The title’s already in the bag along with the Premier Sports Cup and the team are sitting in a decent position with two fixtures in the new-look Champions League to go.
What Ibrox surely must have done, though, is focus minds. From top to bottom. It must have made the board realise that, despite the financial outlays of the summer, more money will have to be spent on recruits going forward.
It has led to further questions on the way funds were invested pre-season. Adam Idah is the £9million acquisition still not judged worthy of a regular start while Arne Engels, who copped some unfair criticism earlier in the season because of the £11m price tag hanging round his neck, is now at the stage where he really needs to start delivering on a consistent basis.
Events in Govan should also focus Rodgers’ mind on the fact that his big ambitions for this season are nowhere close to being achieved yet.
A home victory over Leipzig has left Celtic well placed to qualify from the Champions League League Phase
When he agreed to give it another whirl at Celtic in the summer of 2023, it was all about doing what he’d failed to do first time round — and making the club more competitive in Europe. He admitted it himself. That was the incentive. The intention.
So far, so good on that front. A hard-fought goalless draw away to Serie A title-contenders Atalanta assuaged concerns about his — and his side’s — ability to dig in and grind out results against top opposition.
The 3-1 home win over RB Leipzig, still top four in the Bundesliga despite their evident struggles in Europe, was the kind of signature win Rodgers desperately needed. His players were exceptional that night.
Yet, the job still isn’t done. Far from it. Celtic, needing to stay in the top 24 to make the play-off round, sit 21st in the Champions League table. Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven and VfB Stuttgart are four dangerous-looking teams who will be looking to overtake them in the last two rounds of fixtures.
It’s what makes the visit of Young Boys in just two weeks’ time so, so important. It should be shooty-in for Celtic, really, even if there is a sense they might have gone off the boil a little in recent weeks.
The Swiss outfit are rock-bottom of the Champions League with six losses out of six, three goals scored and 22 conceded. Even in their own domestic league, they are toiling, a distant ninth in a 12-team set-up, eight points behind leaders Lugano.
They’ll be travelling to Glasgow with the Champions League pretty low on their list of priorities, easy prey for a Celtic team who could do without having to go to Aston Villa in their last game needing a result.
Get his team motoring again and get the job done against Young Boys to secure progress, unless results elsewhere put a stick in the wheel, and Rodgers will certainly have shot par for the campaign. When the draw was first made, reaching the play-off round would have been seen by everyone as a realistic objective.
When Rodgers returned to Celtic the intention was always to make them more competitive in Europe
The real target for the Scottish champions has got to be reaching the Champions League last 16
The real target, though, has got to be getting to the last 16, the knockout stages proper. That would realise the ultimate goal of putting Celtic back on the map in UEFA competition after a decade spent as absolute no-marks. It would prove beyond question that Rodgers is capable of making the club punch above its weight at the highest level.
It would also give him carte blanche to fire back at his critics — without discovering, as has happened on few notable occasions now, that pride often comes before a fall.
Derby win won’t save Clement if he flops in Leith
It’s difficult to subscribe to the view that taking Celtic to the cleaners at Ibrox has bought Philippe Clement time to get his reign as Rangers manager back on track.
For starters, two of the most important players in Thursday’s three-goal thumping of Brendan Rodgers’ side couldn’t get into the team earlier in the campaign.
Ianis Hagi was persona non grata. Yes, there was a contract clause over future appearances that needed renegotiated, but Clement was clear on the eve of the first Old Firm game of the season that he’d told him there was no place for him in the first XI — and the arrival of Nedim Bajrami proved that.
With no mention of deals or clauses, it was painted purely as a footballing decision.
Nicolas Raskin was no more than a bit-part player at that point too. Of course, he’d had injury issues, but you just got the feeling Clement didn’t fancy him.
Rangers boss Philippe Clement has bought himself some time by beating Celtic
After leaving him out of a Glasgow derby back in April, he gave the distinct impression he considered Tom Lawrence and Kieran Dowell capable of more.
Just as he thought sticking with Cyriel Dessers up front come hell or high water and flogging the fading James Tavernier to death were good ideas too.
Yet, here we are, with Hagi now one of the key creative forces in the team and Raskin captaining the side against Celtic. It just feels like we have arrived at this point more by accident than design.
That’s fine. It won’t be the first time a manager has found the right mix thanks to being forced into a corner. It’s just that Clement has so much left to prove — starting with Sunday’s visit to Easter Road.
Rangers remain 11 points behind Celtic despite beating them. Their away record in the Premiership is an almost surreal three wins in nine, with four defeats.
If a fourth win on the road isn’t racked up against Hibs, the dismantling of Celtic won’t protect him from the storm.
Clarke has to find a way to get Ferguson into his midfield
With the transfer market now open again, rumours are duly circulating over Lewis Ferguson.
Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson has been linked with a move to Juventus or AC Milan
Inter Milan are the latest side to be linked with the 25-year-old Bologna midfielder following his return from a serious knee injury at the end of last year in the wake of speculation last term over the likes of Juventus and AC Milan taking a look.
Ferguson has comported himself brilliantly since taking the admirable leap of heading abroad to prove himself and will surely get his reward in 2025.
A major transfer is one thing, but becoming a Scotland regular must finally happen too.
Finding a way to make Ferguson a regular starter for his country ought to be one of national coach Steve Clarke’s New Year resolutions.
