BRENDAN RODGERS has only ever known success in Scottish football.
In his first stint as Celtic manager, the Irishman won seven successive domestic trophies – including historic back-to-back trebles – before his abrupt exit to Leicester City.
From the May 2016 day Rodgers was paraded in front of thousands of joyous Hoops fans in the east end of Glasgow as successor to Ronny Deila to the unexpected day in February 2019 when he departed for the Midlands, it was silverware triumphs all the way on the homefront.
Rodgers is now poised to rubberstamp his second coming when the treble winners take on Ross County on Saturday in his first competitive encounter when the team’s 53rd league flag will be unfurled in front of a packed and rocking Parkhead.
SILVERWARE SUCCESS…Brendan Rodgers with the coveted treble, the Premiership trophy flanked by the League Cup and Scottish Cup.
The 50-year-old gaffer will step into the home dug-out tomorrow night for the first time since a 4-1 win over Motherwell on February 24 2019 – just a couple of days before his parting of the ways with his boyhood idols – when he takes charge of the team in James Forrest’s testimonial match against Athletic Bilbao.
The bad news for the opposition is that Rodgers believes he is a better manager now than he was first time-around when he had such an astounding and invigorating impact on a club that was lapsing towards lethargy under the guidance of the Norwegian.
The returning team chief is convinced his time at Leicester City, where he was brutally sacked as the team toppled towards top-flight extinction, will serve him well for what lies ahead on the home and European battlefields.
Rodgers said: “I’ve come back with more experience, more games under my belt, but, equally, more hunger. There is probably a greater appreciation, that’s for sure.
INTERESTING VIEWING…Brendan Rodgers watches and analyses Celtic in action at the Aviva.
“In terms of football and having gone away for four and half years and working in the most competitive league in the world, the English Premier League with top players and top managers, so you will only develop and learn from that.
“I think I’ll enjoy it even more now that I am back. The first time I was here, and I loved my time here, it was great. But having gone away for four and a half years, I had a lot to think about before coming back.
“It wasn’t just about coming back to Celtic, there were lots of things off the field and on the pitch. I said to myself that I was going to enjoy every single moment of being back here again, both in terms of life and in football, and I intend to do that.”
Rodgers, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “Coming back has just felt like coming back to family again. It doesn’t feel like going to a football club as such. I’m back here with people who understand.
“Look, I also come back here, because I left and because of the success I had the last time, I come back here with a greater pressure and a greater expectation.
“But that’s one of the reasons I did come back, to take that on. Like I’ve said previously, there was nothing nostalgic about it. It was about coming here to win and to win in a way in which I want to play the game.”
THE THINKER…Brendan Rodgers delivers his views after the deadlock with Wolves.
Looking at the squad – minus Filipe Jota and Aaron Mooy – he inherited from Ange Postecoglou and the five additions in recent weeks, Rodgers commented: “It’s a really good level and it’s important we build on that, but the actual technical quality, when you have that within your squad, allows you to play to a very high level.
“There’s a lot of young players and some good experience in there and we have some really important players still to come back which is great.”
South Korean doule-act Kwon Hyeon-kyu, a gritty, ball-winning midfielder, and tricky winger Yang Hyun-jun made their first appearances as second-half substitutes in the 1-1 draw with Wolves in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday and the boss was impressed after their cameo roles.
Rodgers added: “It’s going to take a little bit of time, but Kwon I like, he’s physical and has a nice touch on the ball and sees the pass early. I think once he got up to speed he was good.
“Yang is a direct winger and he was good when he got up to the physicality.”
Both of the new Bhoys will get their first taste of Paradise tomorrow night and there could also be sightings of Carl Starfelt, Maik Nawrocki and Cameron Carter-Vickers during the evening.
