BRENDAN RODGERS goes into the opening Scottish Cup-tie against Kilmarnock at Parkhead this evening on the back of a phenomenal record.
Remarkably, the Celtic manager has sampled defeat just once in THIRTY-FOUR domestic Cup games over his two stints in charge of the champions.
Coincidentally, the only blip in a stupendous sequence of success came in August 2023 when Rodgers, in his third comeback game, watched his side, with newcomers Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Holm in the starting line-up, collapse to a 1-0 League Cup reverse against Derek McInnes’ side at Rugby Park.
The result ended the side’s hopes of winning the competition’s silverware for the seventh time in eight years. It was also the team chief’s first defeat in 25 Cup matches.
THE CUP THAT CHEERS = AGAIN AND AGAIN…Brendan Rodgers with the Scottish Cup after the 1-0 win over Rangers at Hampden on May 25 last year.
Ironically, McInnes had been the manager of Aberdeen when the Irishman claimed his first trophy as Celtic gaffer when goals from Tom Rogic, James Forrest and Moussa Dembele (pen) gave them a 3-0 victory in the League Cup showpiece at Hampden in November 2016.
In his first spell, Rodgers completed a hat-trick in the same competition when he added wins over Motherwell (2-0) and the Dons (1-0).
It’s been smiles all the way in the Scottish Cup with three consecutive triumphs spread over seven years – Aberdeen (2-1) and Motherwell (2-0) in his first spell.
And Rodgers brought down the curtain on his second coming with a 1-0 victory over Philippe Clement’s Ibrox outfit when Adam Idah proved to be the Scottish Cup matchwinner on the iconic date of May 25 last year.
And the Hoops gaffer repeated the feat last month when he lifted the Premier Sports League Cup after a dramatic 5-4 penalty-kick shoot-out triumph over the Govan club following a 3-3 extra-time stalemate.
One Cup down and one to go.
It would be foolish to bet against Rodgers waving some silverware in the air at Hampden on Saturday May 24.
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Kilmarnock this evening – only in your champion CQN.