SOME names were to be expected; Gallacher, Johnstone, McGrain. Brendan Rodgers’ childhood affinity to Celtic may have been somewhat embellished since it became apparent that he was going to become the club’s next manager but, growing up with uncles and cousins who were genuine diehards, he was well aware of the greats that had passed through the Parkhead doors.

Some of the other names offered up by the former Liverpool manager, however, were more surprising. When, out of the blue, Rodgers starts talking about Gary Bollan and Forfar Athletic, and then goes on to reference Jim McIntyre, Derek McInnes and Mark McGhee, then it was a telling sign of a man who had either spent a few days hastily poring over the Wee Red Book or one who boasts an encyclopaedic knowledge and memory of all facets of the game. The feeling was it was more likely the latter than the former.

It was also a sign of Rodgers trying to demonstrate his humility. Such was the excitement and fanfare around his appointment – the private jet that brought him to Glasgow, the open media conference, the 13,000 fans who turned out to greet him – that it was possible to misinterpret this as a celebrity figure deciding to grace lowly Scottish football with his presence. He has been accused of hubris before, most notably after the warts-and-all television documentary series, Being Liverpool, that did not always show him in the most flattering of lights, but there was little sign of any grandstanding as Rodgers offered up a more low-key and measured opening address. Whether genuinely humbled by the aura of Celtic, or perhaps having learned from lessons in the past, he could not have done more to show this is not a situation that he feels is beneath his worth.

“There are a number of very good guys up here,” he said of his soon-to-be managerial peers. “Derek McInnes was very unfortunate at Bristol City. I always found him, when we spoke on football, very good. I was delighted to see how well he’s done up here.

“Robbie Neilson came down to see me for a couple of days when I was Liverpool manager. I was really impressed with Robbie and I think he’s done an excellent job with Hearts. The other boys up here, Mark McGhee I know, big Tommy Wright. There are good guys up here.

“I was looking through all the managers working in Scotland because I was interested to know. I saw Gary Bollan. He’s at Forfar. I played against Scotland for Northern Ireland at under-16s and Gary was the captain of Scotland. Jimmy McIntyre, he was at Reading when I was there with Tommy [Burns]. It’s a totally different world for me but it was nice to see familiar names and hopefully I will bump into the majority of them.”

Rodgers is not one to ever wonder about what might have been. Had Steven Gerrard not slipped in a crucial match against Chelsea then Liverpool may have gone on to win the Premier League two years ago and his next managerial job could have been Bayern Munich or Barcelona, rather than Celtic. Such is the capriciousness of life. The 43 year-old, though, arrives harbouring no regrets.

“I think it was fate really that got me here,” he reasoned. “So many stars have aligned for me to be here at this time. That time at Liverpool - when I went in they were eighth and we weren’t predicted to be in the top four within two years but nearly won the title. It just wasn’t to be. We had everything going into that game and unfortunately the slip changes the landscape. But what I did there will be similar to what I can do here in terms of the expectation. Liverpool were never expected to be near the league within two years and with a bit of luck we could have won it. The idea is to do the very best that you possibly can.”

He is moving from one football-mad, working class city dominated by two clubs to another but that is where similarities between Liverpool and Glasgow end. Again it was all about the emotional pull.

“This is different,” he explained. “This is family, this is blood, this is Gallacher, Johnstone, McGrain. I loved Liverpool, I loved my time there. At 39 years of age as a manager to feel that there was brilliant for me. And it’s created a great platform for me leading to me coming here. I might be young as a manager but I’ve had quite a bit of experience and hopefully Celtic can benefit from that. The big clubs in the big cities - it can be the goldfish bowl. But it’s why I came here. That’s what excites me.”

His primary task – as well as adding to his backroom team as he has done gradually throughout his first week as manager – will be to sift through a squad replete with attacking midfielders but containing only one reliable centre forward. He has been impressed with the emergence of teenage full-back Kieran Tierney and hopes there may be other similar unpolished gems in the club’s youth system.

"I will always look in-house. Over the years a number of great Scottish players have come from here. It has changed in every way now for young players. I've seen lots of players - Scottish, Irish, British - wasted talents. Players that could be good players but for whatever reason are not professional. If you look at my record, they will all get an opportunity to play in a magnificent stadium for an incredible club and they have got to take that opportunity.”

Celtic return for pre-season on June 20 and Rodgers has some administrative matters to take care of in the meantime. "I need to find somewhere to live," he explained. "I need to get schools and that ready, I need to spend time at the training ground and have meetings with agents and personnel about players. So it's full on.”