Prior to the presser, the Celtic manager seemed to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having worked so hard to find himself back in the favours of the fans, would he risk that by being too diplomatic in an effort to pull the club together? Or would he continue to align himself with the supporters’ point of view and risk severely annoying his employers by going full ‘Box Office Brendan’? As it turned out, the only thing missing was the popcorn.
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How did he feel when the clock struck 11pm on transfer deadline day, and his squad was left far short of the standard it had been just a few short months ago?
“Empty,” came the reply.
“We have to accept and take responsibility for the fact the window wasn’t what we wanted.”
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On any other week, that may have been the headline. But this was a mere hors d’oeuvres.
What did he think of the off-record briefing given to a newspaper from someone on the Celtic board against him, alleging that he was ‘engineering his exit’ from the club?
“Cowardly,” he said. And just as pointedly, that he was not surprised.
Did he know who was behind it? A pause. A smile.
“No.”
It didn’t take Hercule Poirot to deduce who he may have been referring to. But in a withering assessment of the perception powers of the members of Scottish football’s fourth estate, he laid a few more breadcrumbs down just in case.
Under-fire chief executive Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay were ‘good guys’. He relayed a story about them, the men ‘he works with day-to-day’, coming into the club on Christmas Day to help feed those less fortunate. These were ‘honest guys’, and ‘good people’.
Dermot Desmond has also been getting it in the neck from fans who long ago sussed that his influence far outstripped the magnitude of his 34 percent shareholding, but Rodgers reassured them that he retains faith in him too.
“I have a huge respect for Dermot,” he said.
“Big reason why I came back. He’s always supported me and from a personal perspective.”
As he rhymed off the members of the board and the reasons why he feels he can still work with them, there was one name conspicuous by its absence. We all knew who that was, even if there was no direct accusation. And even if we too have to tread a delicate line.
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Should there be an investigation by the club into the briefing, and should the person responsible resign from their position if they are found?
“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Rodgers said.
“I think if you’re sat in the position that I’m in with the weight of the club on your shoulders, and to be the spokesperson and be the manager and be the psychologist and be everything, it’s so important that you feel supported.
“If anyone is briefing against that person when they know they could come and speak to me at any time, I’m here from early morning to late in the evening, or come to my house or do whatever.
“I’m pretty sure there will be some questions asked on it because like I said, there was quite a bit of detail in there – and wrong I may add. But hopefully we’ll find out.”
The big reveal, then, is for another day. But where does this leave Celtic now? Somewhat surprisingly given the turmoil of the transfer window, the recent briefing that so hurt the manager and the fact that Rodgers and his board seem to be on different planets, never mind different pages, when it comes to their transfer policy, he hinted that this summer and the expiry of his contract may not mean the end of his second stint at the club. Or, to put it in the way he did at the last Rodgers press conference that felt so significant, it might not be ‘terminado’ after all.
“I would love to stay here longer,” he said.
“I’ve had informal chats with Dermot and Michael. I haven’t had an offer yet to think over. And until that comes, then I’m not going to be so arrogant to say, yeah, I don’t want to be here for another three years. The club might not want me here.
“So, I have to respect that. And until that happens, until there’s something serious on a piece of paper, then I just continue to do my job.”
With caveats.
“Of course, there needs to be conditions within that allows me to work to the best I possibly can,” he added.
“If not, then it’s maybe just there’s two philosophies that don’t quite add up. And I also accept that.
“I’ll go away, I’ll be a Celtic supporter for the rest of my life, and we’ll go our separate ways.”
Before we went our separate ways, he had one last playful jab at the bloodlust in the room.
“We expect Kilmarnock to play in a 5-4-1, by the way,” he said, in answer to a question that never arrived.