BRENDAN Rodgers last night denied he would use Celtic to land another managerial position in the Premier League in England as he was paraded in front of thousands of supporters at Parkhead last night.
Rodgers, the former Watford, Reading, Swansea City and Liverpool manager, signed a 12 month rolling contract with the Scottish champions on Friday.
The 43-year-old is, despite being sacked at Anfield after a disappointing run of results back in October, highly regarded as a coach in England and was linked with a return to Swansea earlier this season.
However, the Irishman, who grew up in County Antrim supporting Celtic, stressed that he was fully committed to bringing both silverware and European success to the Glasgow club.
“When you come into any club, you come in for the longer term,” he said. “I look at Martin O’Neill, he was here for five years. Neil Lennon, too, was here for four seasons.
“So you want to bring success to the club and however long that takes, you want that opportunity. Time is the big thing you want as a manager, but ultimately you don’t get that. You’ve got to win games and you’ve got to perform.
“At this moment in time, I’ve got no thoughts of Celtic being a stepping stone and moving back into the Premier League. I don’t want to work in the Premier League for 20 years, hence the reason I came up here.”
Rodgers added: “This is a wonderful country. It has some top class coaches and managers. You are working in a totally different market at a totally different level.
“For me, it is a challenge. However long the challenge is, I will be here. You don’t know what the future holds. For me, to come here and manage and be successful - it’s certainly not going be for a year, that’s for sure.”
In an impressive performance in his first press conference, Rodgers stressed that, despite the standard in Scotland not being as high as it was in England, he was under no illusions about the demands which would be on him to succeed in Glasgow.
“I remember Tommy Burns and Packie Bonner saying to me when I was at Reading that at Celtic, it is like no other club,” he said. “You have to win every game. When you win it is great, but when you lose it is a disaster
“You can go to Manchester United and draw as Liverpool manager and it can be a good result, depending on the situation. You don’t get that here, you have got to win the games. Every single game is a pressure situation and there is not many teams in the world have that.”
Rodgers, who was one of more than six candidates interviewed to become Ronny Deila’s successor, revealed that a series of conversations with Dermot Desmond, the major shareholder, had convinced him that moving to Celtic was the next step in his career.
“There were a few opportunities, but Peter rang me when Ronny said he was going to leave,” he said. “I’m a Celtic supporter, I love the club, so out of respect I thought I would go and speak to both Peter and Dermot. I have to say they were very impressive. They were very realistic in terms of where the club is at. They felt the need to hopefully push it on.
“Dermot was a big swaying factor. I met Dermot in London along with Peter. I could see the hunger and the passion in his eyes. He wasn’t just talking through any old spiel to get me here. He has a real genuine passion and love for the club.
“I was aware of Dermot Desmond, the name and the association with his past. But I came away really impressed by him. Then, following that, he made a couple of really important calls to me. We had a real long conversation one night. We were about half an hour on the phone.”
Rodgers added: “I think that relationship is important. I had that at Liverpool where the owners were fantastic, they were really good for me. It’s important that the communication is open. I will work closely with Peter, I will have communication with Dermot and that’s how I see things. It’s very important we all work together.
“As a manager it was important they wanted me here – and that’s what I got from them. They really wanted me to come and manage Celtic. Dermot made it pretty clear that I was the one they wanted here."
Rodgers has already been linked with a move to bring former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard to Celtic, but he confirmed there was no possibility of the former England midfielder joining him.
“I’ve never even considered anything like that,” he said. “Stevie is a very good player, but I’ve never thought about that.
“He’s an incredible man and was an incredible captain for me at Liverpool and if he decides to leave in the summer or when he finishes in LA he will have a number of options. But it’s not even been a consideration at this moment.”
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