Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic bush: Impish attack, stage of life and recalling fans that clapped back passes

Celtic manager doubles down after fans jeering of team

In the great book of Celtic sayings, “I am not going to beat around the bush when I am talking about the bush!” won't give “football without the fans is nothing” a run for its money.

But Brendan Rodgers certainly isn't for backing down. He has addressed the stooshie that has developed amidst Celtic going 13 – count ‘em – points clear at the top of the Premiership following a straightforward, or so it seemed, 3-0 win over St Mirren on Sunday.

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Jock Stein’s famous remark in reference to supporters goes to the very heart of what Celtic are about. It’s written on a plaque beneath the statue of Stein outside Celtic Park.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has his team 13 points clear at the summit.Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has his team 13 points clear at the summit.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has his team 13 points clear at the summit. | SNS Group

Rodgers may or may not be given the same treatment one day. One thing is for sure, his curious turn of phrase while reflecting on the row that has erupted since he chose to call out some Celtic fans for disrespect won’t be chiselled on a plinth or anywhere else.

It did, though, provide a colourful way of illustrating his take on things 48 hours after the booing and restlessness that he found so grating during the victory over St Mirren. He isn’t going to beat about the bush, Rodgers insisted, when he is talking about the bush. In other words, he won’t shirk from discussing the subject at hand, whatever the sensitivities.

For bush, read Greg Taylor. Rodgers felt the left back had been disrespected by the singing for Kieran Tierney, a player who plays in the same position and might or might not be on his way back to Celtic Park from Arsenal. Alternatively, the bush could represent the backpass, or at least the reaction to the backpass, that also irked Rodgers at the weekend.

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The manager complained some fans were too quickly “onto” the team after what they interpreted as a negative pass was made during the early stages as Celtic sought to make the breakthrough. Neither this nor the Tierney complaint has gone down well in some quarters although Rodgers claims to have missed the debate.

“I have to be totally honest, I have not seen anything,” he said. “We played the game, we recover, we train. This is obviously in your guys’ world. It is not in my world. Everything is open to debate now - win, lose or draw, whatever you say. It is not something I get attracted to, really. My focus is on the team and the next game.”

The next game is as imminent as this evening against Dundee United, a team sure to be as resolute as St Mirren if not more so. Rodgers is not so naïve to imagine there won’t be any fallout. He knows there will be a crackle of friction in the air. Perhaps it’s something he's willing in the absence of a lack of challenge from elsewhere. There might be method in what some conclude is his madness. He certainly wasn’t backing down at the club’s training ground on Tuesday.

Celtic train at a snowy Lennoxtown ahead of facing Dundee United.Celtic train at a snowy Lennoxtown ahead of facing Dundee United.
Celtic train at a snowy Lennoxtown ahead of facing Dundee United. | SNS Group

“I am experienced enough to say what I think and what I feel,” he said. “But not in a derogatory way to anyone. I would be the last person to come back here after everything I put myself through...I am so happy I came back here, I love my life here. I love my job here. But it is also important to be able to say what I think.

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“Sometimes you are paid not to say what you think but there are moments when you have to. I am at the stage of my life and career when I don't need to bite my tongue.”

He is also at a stage of his Celtic journey - interrupted, remember, by a midnight flit to Leicester - where he can just about afford to have a nip at some supporters, although days after a 3-0 loss to Rangers did strike some as nonetheless ballsy.

“I can never say to anyone what to say, what to think, what to sing, what to not sing,” he said. “But I know what my own personal value is and a lot of it is based around respect.

“But for me, listen, the Celtic support is an amazing support base. What they give the team and how they support the team and how they travel with the team, I am not about to start telling people what to sing. But like I said, for me there is that bigger picture.”

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That bigger picture, he explained, included the “lumpier” pitches at this time of year and well-coached opponents who sit in and frustrate and don’t allow Celtic to pour forward all the time. He wished all fans were like the ones he remembered at Swansea, where he managed for a couple of successful seasons before joining Liverpool.

“I remember my time at Swansea,” he said. “You made a backwards pass because you can’t go forward and the crowd recognises what was happening. They clap and then you square the pass and play a forward pass and change the point of the attack. It is about recognising the game and that feels good for the players (because) they (the crowd) don’t see that as a negative. It is to start a new attack. Everyone wants to play forward. Everyone wants to play vertical football but it is impossible to do for a whole game.”

Celtic overcame St Mirren 3-0 last time out - but it wasn't all sweetness at Parkhead.Celtic overcame St Mirren 3-0 last time out - but it wasn't all sweetness at Parkhead.
Celtic overcame St Mirren 3-0 last time out - but it wasn't all sweetness at Parkhead. | SNS Group

Rodgers has long seen himself as an educator – and a good one. He wants to create an atmosphere where players are not inhibited and can thrive.

“That’s what I’m here to do,” he stressed. “To manage and be the best that I possibly can be for Celtic in my time here, however long that is. And, of course, I will (always) stand up for that.”

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He could not resist an impish comment aimed at those demanding attack, attack, attack. “Once my time is done I can step back, wait for the next manager to come in, support him and look forward to seeing 60 games of high intensity football for 95 minutes every week,” he grinned.

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