Just who is Chris Davies?

Brendan Rodgers’ sidekick at Celtic has not taken the conventional route into the dugout as a managerial number two. And, at just 31, the latest addition to the Celtic backroom team is the junior of John Kennedy, who services appear likely to be retained on Rodgers’ backroom team.

Like Rodgers and, curiously Kennedy too, Davies’ playing career was cut short abruptly because of injury. By the time he was forced to retire his boots following a spell in New Zealand with Hawke’s Bay United where he worked with former Celtic keeper Jonathan Gould and his father Bobby, Davies had already prepared the groundwork for a career on the coaching side of things.

A sports science degree had been collected from Loughborough University and upon his return to the UK he was quick to rekindle the working relationship he had enjoyed with Rodgers, when both men had been at Reading together. Rodgers had managed the youth team of which Davies had captained, the beginning of a working relationship that has endured throughout a 15-year spell.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers names Chris Davies as Celtic assistant manager

He was taken by Rodgers to Swansea and then to Liverpool and there was an inevitablity that he would follow the Northern Irishman to Celtic.

And Gould senior, who was his son’s assistant during their time in New Zealand, believes that both men can appreciate the magnitude of what lies in store.

“In New Zealand, Chris still hadn’t entirely given up hope of getting his playing career back on track after a lot of injury problems but he was also looking for a chance to get into the analysis and sports science side of things.

“We invited him out and I seem to recall there was a problem with playing and training initially because of tendonitis. But he was with us for three years and he was a terrific lad. He had a great attitude and he was a great guy to work with.

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“It is a great credit to him how far he has come and I know for a fact that he is one of the most respected coaches in England just now. He has a big reputation for having a great eye for detail, for being very thorough and for presenting information to players in a way they can grasp quickly.”

That endearment appears to be backed up by Davies himself who spoke in great detail about his Liverpool in a wide-ranging interview a few seasons back. The working as the head of opposition analysis, Davies explained the way in which he linked with Rodgers and the volume of information that was exchanged in the build-up to the English Premiership games.

“Yes, he’s [Rodgers] got very specific criteria he wants to know, which is on the template that I work off,” he said. “But definitely he is very open to me sharing with him specific ideas that I’ve got or information about that team that isn’t on our template.

“I think Brendan is open to input from others. He’s having that meeting with us game day minus two, and we’re discussing where we’re at and what the opponent’s going to do. Then Brendan will open up the discussion. Usually he’s got quite a clear idea of what he wants to go with team-wise because he’s very organised and prepared in that way. But he’s always open to suggestions and input from the other members of the senior coaching team regarding certain players or systems.

“I look at every single player and how they function, individually their habits, and importantly how the team performs and tactically how they play, and their roles within that. Certainly it’s defining the team tactics because the players may change. So you could spend all your time looking at an individual player then on the Saturday he’s not on the team sheet. So really we have managers who have a specific way of playing, players dip in and out, but the team roles and functions remain the same, so that is an important part. But also it’s an important part for me to predict the next team, and get as much detail as I can on each player.”

That diligence may not be entirely necessary in the Scottish Premiership, especially with teams playing one another at least four times a season, but this summer will be spent plotting a way into the UEFA Champions League group stages where such assiduity could be significant in steering the Parkhead side into that environment.

And Gould was emphatic that the 31-year-old will make an immediate impact in the Celtic dressing room.

“Listen, the two key things you need to have in football is a good football brain. The lad most certainly has that. After that you need to have the ability – and not everyone does – to converse with people in such a way that you get your message across with as little fuss as possible. He has that too.

“Sometimes it is the guys who just didn’t make it as players but who love the game and understand the game who make the greatest coaches – look at Jose Mourinho. Look at Brendan Rodgers.

“Chris is a guy who has served his apprenticeship at Swansea and at Liverpool. He has earned this right to go and take the step up and I am delighted for him. Everyone involved in football understands the colossal nature of a managerial role with Celtic.”