sport news Brendan Rodgers' hex factor lines up its next victim as Celtic boss attempts to ... trends now
A PICTURE has the capacity to say more than a thousand words. The aftermath of Celtic’s win over Rangers in September was a case in point.
The return of Brendan Rodgers to Celtic wasn’t met with universal acclaim. Memories of the Northern Irishman performing a midnight flit to join Leicester City in February 2019 raised issues of trust among supporters tired of being let down by managers who expressed their love for the club one week, then packed a suitcase the next.
After all that syrup on the pitch about the late Tommy Burns, Ange Postecoglou fled for Spurs as fast as his legs could take him. If an English club came back in for Rodgers, there was an obvious suspicion. He’d be next.
In a bid to quell his doubters, the Parkhead boss stood with a scarf over his head on the day of his unveiling and uttered five words: ‘I’ll see you in May.’
Celtic have never been wholly convincing this season. The travails of a hard campaign have raised significant moments of doubt over the team and the manager’s decision to return to Glasgow. His body language has been studied more closely than his tactics.
Despite the loss of Aaron Mooy, Jota, Carl Starfelt and Liel Abada, the poor summer recruitment, the squabbles between the board of directors and the Green Brigade and injuries to key players like Callum McGregor, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate, however, one thing has always offered Rodgers a level of insurance a Celtic manager can’t buy. His record against Rangers.
Rodgers has had the measure of Rangers throughout his two spells as manager of Celtic
Clement and Rodgers embrace at the end of the pulsating 3-3 draw the last time the sides met
After the Ibrox win which sealed Michael Beale’s fate in September, a picture appeared on social media of the Northern Irishman in his car, window down, shades protecting his eyes like a Top Gun extra, arm raised as he milked the acclaim of supporters on London Road. The boss was back.
Undefeated in the two derbies since, December 2018 remains the only time Rodgers has lost a game to Celtic’s bitter rivals.
Steven Gerrard was still in the opposite technical area. Of the 22 players who started the game, only McGregor, James Forrest and James Tavernier are likely to feature at Parkhead tomorrow. McGregor was pushed in as a makeshift left-back and Rangers deserved to win by
