BRENDAN RODGERS experienced his first title win as Celtic manager when he guided the team to success at Tynecastle on April 2 2017.
The final scoreline read: HEARTS 0 CELTIC 5.
The Irishman repeated the championship-winning success the following year with a resounding derby triumph at Parkhead on April 29 2018.
The final scoreline read: CELTIC 5 RANGERS 0.
Last season, in his comeback campaign, Rodgers was on the brink of a hat-trick of Premiership crowns when he took his team to Rugby Park on the evening of May 15 2024.
The final scoreline read: KILMARNOCK 0 CELTIC 5.
Notice anything peculiar in that trio of title-winning celebrations, dear reader? A recurring theme, perhaps?
I am not a gambling man, but even I can comprehend that racking up three identical 5-0 scorelines on the day you win the flag must be astronomical.
To refresh your memory, here’s how the league was won in the three previous occasions Rodgers has emphasised Celtic’s supremacy in Scotland.
NUMBER ONE…Brendan Rodgers and Callum McGregor share the joy with their triumphant team-mates at Tynecastle in April 2017.
HEARTS 0 CELTIC 5 (2017)
BRENDAN RODGERS purred with delight as he watched his Invincibles pulverise their opponents at Tynecastle on April 2 2017 with Scott Sinclair thumping in a hat-trick in the process.
Stuart Armstrong and Patrick Roberts, on loan from Manchester City, added to the parade of goals.
Rodgers beamed: “It typifies how they’ve been for the majority of the season – their attitude, determination, style and intensity.
“We knew it would be a tough game and to win a pressure game like that is a remarkable achievement from the players.
“We take the energy and hunger from training into games and, from a coaching perspective, that’s great to see.
“The fans have been behind the team from day one. Everyone deserves a huge amount of credit – the players, staff and supporters.”
NUMBER TWO…Brendan Rodgers whoops with joy as his opposite number, Graeme Murty, looks for a place to hide at Parkhead in April 2018.
CELTIC 5 RANGERS 0 (2018)
THE afternoon of April 29 2018 was built for smiles. Ibrox caretaker boss Graeme Murty was due to take his players across the city to face a Celtic team just 90 minutes away from their seventh successive crown.
Brendan Rodgers was eager to get his hands on the impressive silverware for a second season in a row.
There was only going to be one winner that fateful day in the east end of the city. Celtic triumphed 5-0 and the only surprise was that the players visibly eased off to a leisurely stroll with thirty-seven minutes still to play.
The Ibrox men realised they had escaped with just a five-goal drubbing.
Odsonne Edouard claimed a double and James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Tom Rogic joined in.
Rodgers grinned: “Our basic rules today were very simple. It was to attack with real aggression and intensity, try and recover the ball as quickly as we could whenever we lost it.
“If we couldn’t do that, make sure we were tight and compact, look to dominate as much of the ball as we could and give it our best shot.
“And I don’t think I could have asked any more of the players. They were absolutely brilliant and I’m really proud.
“For us and our fans, it was a special day to wrap up the title. I’m really pleased with how the players coped with that pressure and expectancy.
“We should have had seven, but we’ll take five.”
NUMBER THREE…Brendan Rodgers and his jubilant Celtic players stage a green party after their five-goal salvo against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on May 15 2024.
KILMARNOCK 0 CELTIC 5 (2024)
BRENDAN RODGERS smiled and joked that he thought Celtic fans had forgotten his name amid the title celebrations at Rugby Park on Wednesday May 15 2024.
The champions, enjoying their third successive crown, had just romped to an impressive 5-0 triumph over routed Kilmarnock at a venue where they had been knocked out of the League Cup in August the previous year and suffered their first Premiership defeat in December.
On this occasion, though, there was no sign of a banana skin as the visitors raced to a three-goal by the 35th minute following strikes from Adam Idah, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest. Matt O’Riley added two more after the interval to emphasise Celtic’s superiority.
Asked about hearing the fans chanting his name again, Rodgers grinned: “It felt really good. I thought they forgot the name!
“But, listen, it was about the team this evening and the support staff. There was so much stuff in the first six months it felt a little bit awkward.
“There was a lot of challenge from a management perspective, a lot of tedious stuff that took place. I’ve never had that before in my career.”
Quizzed if he felt people had questioned his ability, Rodgers replied: “I suppose it is part of the game. From a professional perspective, of course, there will be doubt.
“I was surprised in a way that I heard somebody say about ‘Brendan Rodgers going through the motions’ earlier on in the season.
“I get to work between half-seven and eight o’clock every day. I leave the training ground between half-six and seven o’clock at night. If that is going through the motions, I want to know what every other manager is doing.”
And here we are today, dear friends. Rodgers and Celtic are on the cusp of a fourth title under his leadership.
The final scoreline couldn’t possibly read: DUNDEE UNITED 0 CELTIC 5. Could it?
Now that would be stranger than fiction.
ALEX GORDON
