by Celtic could still retain the Scottish Premiership. Any declaration that they won’t – hardly wild on the evidence available from the table or the eleven games – seems to have angered Brendan Rodgers. It doesn’t take much to make a Celtic manager laugh; An interesting, enduring feature of this second spell in Glasgow is its sharp tone. It is left to wonder why he avoided a planned sabbatical from the game to return to Celtic last summer.
The Celtic Rangers goal was two points and six goals with 11 league games remaining. In other leagues, this would not be cause for positive opinion but the weakness of Scotland’s top flight means that Rodgers cannot rely on other teams taking points from Rangers. Philippe Clement has completely revitalized an Ibrox side, as long as they play with the swagger and belief of champions. Celtic have two main attributes: back-to-back wins over Rangers in the Premier League this season, and a level of recent title specialness that is not seen across the city. Still, when Rodgers claimed back-to-back titles at Celtic since 2017, he did so with Rangers 39 and 12 points adrift. A title race worthy of the name Rodgers is desperately trying to create a siege mentality.
To Rodgers, the “narrative” is firmly against Celtic. He scoffed at “crisis mode” attitudes. At the weekend, he revealed that “a story has been written” about his group of players. Inquiring by a BBC journalist about exactly what Rodgers was up to – a perfectly legitimate line of questioning – the 51-year-old cut a short interview and branded her a “good girl”. questioner. This condescending moment was widely criticized. Celtic’s silence on the matter and Rodgers’ strong defense on Tuesday suggest he does not believe he has done anything wrong.
The clumsy nature of the point Rodgers was trying to make on Sunday probably summed up where he seems to be, where nothing comes easily. It’s a strange situation for a manager with that knowledge and experience. Proving that his own messages are all over the place, Rodgers had previously said that he “didn’t really care” about “what everyone else says or writes”. There are fans who need little encouragement to cry on earth against Celtic in defense of Rodgers who played far more in the gallery than he did during his first spell. This is all theater, detached from the reality of sports.
As a club and as a team, Celtic are not sure. The release of the interim accounts last week, which showed a frankly preposterous £67m in a bank account (this is a football club, not a Silicon Valley entity) had directors shaking their heads at the bleak January transfer window as if this is overseen by a. third party. Celtic have repeatedly made signing first-team ready players extremely difficult. When key players such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley have suffered from inconsistent form, the storm is a perfect storm.
The Celtic supporter base fear losing the league but Rangers fans rightly believe they can win it. The shades of blue are as bleak as it gets if Clement doesn’t see this championship. Since the start of December, Celtic have lost to Kilmarnock and Hearts. Victory in the Old Firm game in the new year should have inspired thoughts of better times but Rodgers’ side have since been beaten by Ross County and Hibs. It was a relentless game against Aberdeen and further points dropped when Kilmarnock visited. Only the most optimists in green and white believe that Celtic can make it 11 wins in a row, which they may need. With Rodgers defending, Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side looked to be in decline long before the Australian headed to Tottenham.
Supporters are chanting to sack the table. Rodgers complained of a lack of “bravery” in that January window. He has even said that the Celtic Park playing surface is not good enough. Rodgers might roll his eyes which is perfectly acceptable in other leagues considered poor in Scotland but he is managing a club in a different economic stratosphere from all but one of the opposition.
Celtic’s chief executive, Michael Nicholson, who was as much, was not supposed to be in this role. Dominic McKay was picked up from Rugby Scotland and lasted a few months. Nicholson doesn’t have the profile or presence to properly defend the outfield. So Rodgers demands quality recruitment, is given precious little and the club is under attack from its own customer base. His story, yes; but of Celtic’s own making.
If Rodgers wins this league, he will have power. In the context of Scotland, taking into account Rangers’ strength and Celtic’s obvious shortcomings, this is his best achievement yet. Should Celtic fall short, Rodgers would also be in a strong position with his wages. In that case, Celtic would obviously need a restart like Postecoglou that Rodgers could take full control of.
However, this requires Rodgers to have a passion for the job at hand. His behavior suggests that he may not exist. Picking arguments and citing negativity created by failures within the club itself is not sustainable.
