Brendan Rodgers is back at Celtic for a second stint as the manager of the club and he will surely be hoping to pick up right where he left off the last time around. The Northern Irishman won all seven domestic trophies available to him, during his first run in the Parkhead hot seat. It included a couple of trebles and an Invincible season as well.
Thus, it is safe to say that Rodgers knows what it takes to win in Scotland. The same cannot be said about Michael Beale yet.
Beale as the manager of the Rangers in the middle of last season, after Giovanni van Bronckhorst was shown the exit door. And he was not able to deliver a single piece of silverware, losing directly to Celtic in both cup competitions as well.
Thus, the pressure will be on Beale to deliver this time around. Just as it will on Rodgers to continue winning trophies for Celtic. That is the reason why he has been brought in after all.
Celtic boss sends clear Rangers message
As reported by the Daily Record, when asked if he would thrive in a situation where Rangers were coming after Celtic, Rodgers said:
"“What do you think? That’s why I’m here. It was the same when I came to Celtic the first time around. It was clear Rangers were on the up. They had beaten Celtic on penalties in the Scottish Cup semi-final. But my focus was on making Celtic the best we could possibly be – and to succeed.“It’s exactly the same now. It’s competition, and you need that because it allows you to be the best you can be. That will be great for me.“Everyone knows the challenge of being at Celtic or Rangers – you need to win games. You’ve got to win trophies and you’ve got to win them in a certain style.”"
Interestingly, Rodgers and Beale are no strangers to each other. Their paths have crossed in the past, at Chelsea and then at Liverpool.
Thus, it will be interesting to see how their upcoming contests go. At the moment, one has to feel that Rodgers has the upper hand. Not only is he taking over a team that won the treble but he has the world of experience as well.
He has managed teams like Celtic, Liverpool, Leicester City, Watford, Reading and Swansea City through the course of his career. In contrast, Beale has only one year of managerial experience under his belt.