IT WOULD be fair to say Brendan Rodgers won over the Celtic following on the day he was announced manager in front of around 13,000 rapturous supporters at Parkhead on the afternoon of May 20 2016.
The new boss to the fans: “I have been brought up with Celtic all my life, with my brothers, uncles and cousins all big supporters who still come to the games to this day, so I am fairly steeped in the tradition of Celtic and I’m obviously proud to be named as manager here.”
The supporters lapped up the Irishman’s introduction and they cheered as he added: “For me, the objectives are pretty clear; to continue with the domination of Scottish football and also to make an impact in European football as this club is steeped in that tradition.
“You obviously go back to 1967 when Celtic became the first club from these islands to win the European Cup. There is a huge history here for the club in Europe.”
HAT-TRICK HERO…Moussa Dembele celebrates one of his trio in Celtic’s 5-1 derby win in September 2016.
The feelgood factor continued all the way through a phenomenal campaign as Rodgers delivered a magical table in a season that hailed The Invincibles, an assortment of quality individuals who went through the crusade unbeaten on the home front.
Moussa Dembele, a raw 19-year-old French striker became the new team chief’s first signing at a mere £500,000 in a Development Fee changing hands with Fulham for his services.
There was an immediate impact from the powerhouse attack-leader thumped in a memorable hat-trick in Rodgers’ derby debut, a crushing 5-1 triumph over a bewildered Mark Warburton’s Ibrox side in the east end of Glasgow on September 10.
Celtic’s unbeaten start to the season came under extreme pressure at Fir Park on Saturday, December 3 at the thirteenth hurdle. Twice they were adrift by a two-goal margin, but came back to win 4-3 with a last-gasp goal from Tom Rogic.
Callum McGregor revealed the manager had been the calmest man in the dressing room with the team trailing 2-0. The players argued among themselves after Louis Moult had been allowed to score two simple goals. The midfielder, who came on just before the half-hour mark for an out-of-sorts Emilio Izaguirre, netted the goal three minutes after the restart that sparked the dramatic comeback.
He revealed: “Brendan Rodgers was brilliant at half-time. You’re not really sure what to expect in a situation like that when you are losing 2-0 and you know it’s been poor.
HAT-TRICK HERO…Scott Sinclair runs away in triumph after claiming one of his three in the 5-0 title-winning victory over Hearts at Tynecastle in April 2017.
“But he was excellent. He was really calm, really precise. He knew what had gone wrong and he knew how to fix it. He gave us quite specific instructions about how to go about the second-half and we always felt that if we came out early and got a goal that we could get ourselves back into it.”
Another victory followed at Ibrox before the turn of the year when Scott Sinclair claimed the winner in a 2-1 triumph after that man Dembele had hit the opener.
A goal three minutes from time from Clint Hill gave Rangers an unlikely point in a 1-1 draw at Parkhead in March after Stuart Armstrong had thrashed the Hoops into the lead.
When the dust settled, Celtic were THIRTY-THREE points clear and were only required to beat Dundee and Hearts in their next two games to make certain of their sixth successive crown.
Goals from Jozo Simunovic and Armstrong gave the Hoops a 2-1 win at Dens Park to set up Rodgers for his first title at Tynecastle on April 2, 2017.
Celtic didn’t break stride as they won 5-0 with Sinclair, bought from Aston Villa for £6million in the summer, claiming a hat-trick – one from the penalty spot – while Armstrong and Patrick Roberts chipped in with the others.
Rodgers beamed: “I need to just stay calm. I have already worked in the Premier League and I couldn’t think of a better place to be at this stage of my life than Glasgow Celtic.
“I am comfortable here and sometimes that ambition, you have to be careful, you have to appreciate what you have and I feel very happy here. It is only the start for us.”
* READ the full inside story of Celtic’s extraordinary 2016/17 championship triumph – and FIFTY other title successes – in ‘CELTIC: 50 Flags Plus One’ on sale now in CQN’s special Christmas sale. Just click below.
