A MONTH until the transfer window re-opens and Brendan Rodgers has already managed to chisel some cash out of Dermot Desmond. “I had a meal with Dermot in London on Wednesday for three hours or so, talking about we can improve and keep moving the club forward,” revealed the Celtic manager. “Who paid? He did. Great boss!”

One can only imagine the size of that bill – presumably it wasn’t a Groupon offer - but then again Desmond has rarely stinted when it has come to spending money on matters relating to Celtic. The club’s major shareholder has often been painted as a disinterested, detached investor given his low public profile and resistance to attending Celtic’s annual general meetings but Rodgers insists nothing could be further from the truth. When it comes to communication, everything flows.

During their summer meetings when he was interviewed for the manager’s post and in their subsequent dealings, Rodgers has found the Irishman to be engaging, interested and up-to-date. There is a feeling that Desmond has rediscovered his Celtic mojo following the relatively lean years under Ronny Deila, a view enhanced by the photos that emerged of him celebrating inside the Hampden dressing room with the players following last weekend’s League Cup triumph.

Desmond is a man of considerable wealth with diverse business interests but, via regular phone calls with chief executive Peter Lawwell, is kept abreast of the latest Celtic developments. With one trophy in the bag and the team enjoying a substantial lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership, there is little surprise that there was plenty of mutual backslapping when he and Rodgers met for that bowl of soup.

“He’s brilliant, passionate about Celtic, and there’s regular communication all on a positive,” confirmed the manager. “He was very impressive when I met him and he knows everything that’s going on. He has a great relationship with Peter and I’ve now come into that. So communication between the three of us is clear and simple.

“He’s pressing me, asking what he can do. And where he's really, really good, he then backs off and lets you manage and lets you coach. When I spoke with him in the summer it was just about me coming in and restoring the club. Could I come in and have an impact and help it improve on and off the field with my experience? From that, it’s left for me to do and it's been great.

“Is he still as keen for Celtic? One hundred and fifty per cent. He has a board of directors of high intellect who represent him. It's not as if he’s not showing up [to the AGMs]. He knows what's going on every single day at Celtic. From his first waking moment to his last thought at night, it's Celtic. He empowers the great board we have with trust, and the operation of Celtic is first class, I have to say. Trust is a big thing and he trusts people to work.”

Desmond has been involved with Celtic for two decades now, a period in which the money to be made in Scottish football has shrunk to a pittance in comparison with the sums swirling around south of the border. The oft-proposed move to the Premier League has proved to be as much of a fairytale as the old board’s plans to flit to Cambuslang, while the gap between Celtic and those operating at the sharp end of the Champions League has grown to a Grand Canyon-sized chasm.

It would be understandable, then, in those circumstances if Desmond’s interest began to wane but Rodgers does not depict a man who has grown bored playing with his toy.

“I don't see that, not at all,” said the manager. “Because I don't think it is a toy to him. It's his life. He has lots of other business interests but the thing that struck me when I met him and Peter for the first time in London, the actual passion he has for the club.

“And it hasn't diminished at all. There have been difficult times for them but I think they recognise it and they want to improve. And football, over time, will change. But as long as we’re there at the forefront of it and trying to be up there as one of the leading lights, he's very much engrossed in what's going on.

“He’s very engaging. I love spending time with him. Every message he’ll ever send me or every conversation we have, it’s uplifting. He’s a real custodian of the club, really, really Celtic-daft. And just because he's not there doesn't mean he doesn't care. He has really impressive football knowledge. When I talk about the game or about players, he gets it. I always learn any time I talk to him.”

Rodgers will learn more about Desmond’s commitment to his Celtic greenprint in the coming weeks. The manager, it could be argued, hardly needs new players in a campaign where the next real meaningful game is a Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers next month, but he is already looking further ahead, wanting to add extra pieces to the jigsaw so they are settled by the time the Champions League qualifiers roll around in the summer.

“It’s an important month but you have to stay calm,” he added of the January transfer window. “Strategically we know what type we want. The identity of the team is pretty clear and it’s about trying to improve on that. You might see someone you love, he might want to come but the club doesn't want to sell. But hopefully we can get some business done.”

This season’s Champions League adventure will come to a shuddering halt in the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night. Neither Celtic nor their hosts Manchester City have anything to play for – with the teams finishing fourth and second respectively in the group regardless – but Rodgers believes it will still prove a worthwhile experience for him and his players.

“It is going to be a really good night. It is a great stadium, it has a beautiful pitch and with our supporters there, there will be a great atmosphere. And again it is a chance for us to look forward and show development again, and play with aggression to go and try and get a result.”

The trick for Rodgers – and this is where Desmond again comes in – is to somehow find a way of guiding Celtic closer to the European elite in the years ahead.

“I am realistic to know that money gets you quality and it brings you a bit of belief but I also know we have to look to bridge the gap somehow and the way we will do it is as a collective. For us it is going to be about organisation, it is going to be about the cohesive group and about working together and the whole being more than the sum of the parts. So that is the real exciting bit going forward.”