BRENDAN RODGERS sat down at a table in the Number Seven suite inside Celtic Park and remarked that this where it had all began which indeed it was.
Back in May, which feels more than five months ago, the Northern Irishman was in the very same room being unveiled as the new manager and would-be saviour by a club he supported but was fairly unfamiliar with.
He didn’t know the players, had only a notion of the pressure, lifestyle and intensity the job brings, and while Rodgers is a confident man, he could not say for sure whether he was going to enjoy being Celtic manager.
Read more: Brendan Rodgers - I can't believe how good my Celtic players have become
Just for the record, he is enjoying it very much.
It is Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League tonight and then Rangers in a League Cup semi-final on Sunday. Frantic but fun would be his mantra. The smile on the man’s face suggested that he is loving all of this and why on earth shouldn’t he given that, at least right now, things could hardly have gone better.
Asked if he was enjoying himself more than he thought he would back in May, Rodgers admitted: “Yes. When you win it helps. It has been brilliant. Everyone talks about the goldfish bowl but I have never found that. Maybe it is my experience of being at Liverpool, and managing a huge club, which has helped me with that.
“It’s just a dream to be here and have the responsibility to deliver. I know what the supporters want here, so I know what it feels like. To have that is a huge honour for me. Along with my staff I work tirelessly. We do not have many days free.
“We are in it at 7.15 in the morning and leaving at six or seven in the evening and then at home we are analysing again into the late hours. There’s a lot of work goes into it. But the professional and social life has been brilliant. I have loved every moment of it.”
Not everyone has found it this easy. The list of managers and players who have felt life in Glasgow is a bit too much when they represent one of the two big clubs is growing even this season. Just not in the east end of the city.
Read more: Brendan Rodgers - I can't believe how good my Celtic players have become
As Rodgers said, winning helps and it would be different had things not clicked into place right away. But they have and it’s a big reason why he already feels at home.
He said: “Listen, every individual is different. I tend to focus on my professional life, family and that’s it. When I can take a break from it I will do. I went away in the last international break I didn’t in the one before that, because sometimes you need to press the re-set button again and think over things in a different setting. It’s been brilliant.
“I understand the expectancy, I understand the pressure of a big club and, like I said, maybe the rollercoaster of the Premier League and all that side of it prepares you well. This is still a huge challenge, it’s a huge club. As you know, there are many nationals and locals (papers) but it is fine."
So does he allow himself any time off at all? Yes but only now and then.
He said: “Players are different. They get up in the morning and come in, they get fed, train, recover and go home. It’s not easy but it is different. As a coach and manager you are preparing sessions, you are worrying about playing good football, you are preparing your travel, you are preparing your monthly schedule for work, and you are worrying about working well. It’s a different life.
“But socially, the moments I do get out, it has been brilliant. I was saying to Charlotte (his partner) the other day, the number of restaurants you have up here is incredible – I never knew the choice. It is incredible. You could eat out somewhere different every night for a whole year. And maybe some of you do!”
As he said this, us fine men of the Fourth Estate felt the need to collectively hold in our bellies.
“You have to be careful because it’s a great life,” he added and right now for Rodgers it's difficult not to feel smug. Not that he is settling because he believes there is so much more to come from this team.
Read more: Brendan Rodgers - I can't believe how good my Celtic players have become
“Are we at the point where if we play well we’ll win? No there’s still a long way to go. My aim here is to build a team with power, with speed, a high level of technical ability and unpredictability in their game, that scores goals, creates many chances and defends strongly. I’ve a way to go in terms of that.
"We’ve made a great start with the players and the few additions we have, but there will come a point where – wherever we are and whatever jungle we are in the world – we’ll be able to impose our style. And I’ll be happy to go to wherever it is and play our way.”
It says much for where Celtic are right now when Leigh Griffiths will start on the bench once again. However, at least the man in front of him is Moussa Dembele who with all due respect is a cut above Chris Martin.
“It’s difficult for the kid at the moment but he has shown a great attitude,” said Rodgers.
“He is coming off the back of 40 goals and started this season great. He then gets injured and his replacement comes in. Unfortunately, his replacement is one of the best young strikers in European football.
“It’s not as if he is being kept out by someone who is not a good player. However hard it is for him, he understands it. He is a great boy. I have loved him from the first time I met him here.”
And with that, Rodgers left after delivering perhaps the most positive press conference in the history of Celtic.
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