BRENDAN RODGERS celebrated his 700th game as a manager in the 3-1 Premiership triumph over Kilmarnock at Parkhead.
The win – his seventh in eight league outings since his June return to the champions – eased the Hoops to seven points clear of St Mirren and 10 ahead of the Ibrox outfit, with both those clubs in competition in Paisley at noon today.
Rodgers was delighted with the success over the side that brought about his first-ever defeat in Cup knock-out competition as the Celtic gaffer at the 25th hurdle at Rugby Park in August.
THUMB’S UP…Brendan Rodgers sends a message to the Celtic fans before the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock to mark his 700th game as a manager.
The 50-year-old Irishman kicked off his career in the dug-out at Watford in 2008 and has also been in charge of Reading, Swansea, Liverpool and Leicester City as well as the Glasgow giants.
Rodgers became a History Bhoy with two successive trebles at Parkhead and he also lifted the League Cup in December 2018 to make it seven domestic honours in a row before he left for the King Power club in February 2019.
He has won the FA Cup, a Community Shield and Championship Play-Off Final across the border. He took the Merseyside club to runners-up place in the Premier League coming so close to their first crown in almost quarter of a century.
It hasn’t all been roses with Rodgers being sacked three times – by Reading after just six months, Liverpool in 2015 and Leicester in April this year.
IN WITH A SHOUT…Brendan Rodgers yells instructions to his Celtic players against Killie.
Reflecting on his trek to the milestone 700, Rodgers said: “Time goes fast, eh?
“I think you have to have resilience and persistence in management. You know there are going to be ups and downs in it.
“I was 35 when I took my first manager’s job. It has been 15 years and I was obviously coaching for 15 years before that.
“But I have been very fortunate in my career to have a lot of really good moments and good times and work with a lot of fantastic players and coaches.
“I am very proud of my career, but, hopefully, we can keep having more exciting moments and exciting times.”
Rodgers, speaking to the Scottish Sun, added: “I am looking forward to this next decade now. My target was always to get to 1,000 games as a manager.
“Hopefully, I can achieve that here at Celtic and keep looking to win games.
“It is a sign of resilience and persistence to keep going and you have to do well.”
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