There are two things just about any Celtic supporter dreams of from a young age — donning the Hoops as a player and/or managing the club.
For Brendan Rodgers, his boyhood dream came true as he was named Celtic manager just a bit over a year ago. But, as we can all attest to, dreams can sometimes become nightmares.
Last season was the polar opposite of a nightmare, as Rodgers turned Celtic around immediately upon his arrival. What followed was a simply magical season. Records that weren’t meant to be broken were, a domestic treble was won, Celtic never lost inside of Scottish football and Rodgers got Celtic back in to the Champions League proper.
Looking back on it, Rodgers seems to have let a lot of weight off his shoulders. At least that is the impression one gets from his interview with The Herald.
"“To go into a small list of names who have won the treble is obviously a huge honour. And if anything, at least when I leave here, there’s a bit of positive history to look back on. As opposed to ‘he came in here as a supporter and he was hopeless!’ You never want to leave that way.”"
That’s what a truly incredible season on the pitch and a happy life off of it can bring.
“It was an amazing season,” he said. “In every way my life was incredible – the whole journey from the first day through. I’ve been fortunate to manage in a lot of great places but I was more happy for everyone than looking upon it for myself, really.”
He also had a bit of humor in him, talking about how at least should things go pear-shaped for him at the end, no one will be able to take away last season from him.
“So at least however it goes later down the line, I at least created something in that first year which was a symbol, which will say ‘Well, at least he worked well at that point’ instead of ‘he was rubbish..!’”
Of course, now the questions abound as to what Rodgers and his Bhoys will do for an encore. It will be very difficult to top the magic that happened last season minus winning every domestic match and marching beyond the group stage in the Champions League.
Hey, a Bhoy can dream, right?
But, the good news is that Rodgers and his squad aren’t doing what fans do best — dwell on the past. Instead, he knows it is all about what is ahead of them now.
“Last season is in the record books and can never ever be taken away from us, but it’s gone.” said Rodgers to The Herald. “We’re out to win it, not defend it, and we have to go and impose our way of working. Work even harder, run even faster. We have to be even hungrier now for success.”
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It appears with some injury issues, Rodgers has inadvertently found that hungry squad. It was certainly on full display in Saturday’s 5-0 drubbing of Sunderland.
Let’s see if it adds up to more success in 2017-18, the year most thought Celtic would be hitting its stride under Rodgers to begin with.