BRENDAN Rodgers set his sights last night on leading Celtic to a historic ten top flight titles in a row after signing a contract extension at the club which runs through to the summer of 2021. The Northern Irishman, who has already landed a Ladbrokes Premiership and League Cup double in his first season in charge, has gone 38 domestic matches unbeaten during his campaign and could become only the third manager in the club's history to complete a treble. Having arrived at the club on a one-year rolling contract, he said he was delighted to pledge the next four years of his career to what he called "the greatest club in the world" and was planning to see the contract out.
“That [ten in a row] excites the supporters," said Rodgers. "When you start to accumulate titles and you get up to six then of course that’s what they look towards. There’s a heck of a lot of work and things that could change before then. But I just wanted to commit myself to a life I love both professionally and personally.
"Maybe after one or two years the club say 'Brendan, we have had enough of you, it has been great'," he added. "I will never forget that I signed four years at Liverpool and after a year it was 'thank you very much'. So you never know what will happen. But that is the plan - the plan is to be here for four years.
"Every manager here wants to win the league each year. I am no different, so that’s the aim. We want to dominate Scottish football, get in to the Champions League and look to make a mark in Europe. The way we are building, that’s the length of time I see will help us do that."
While the club chose not to reveal the exact compensation amount required should any interested party desire to prise him away before then, Rodgers shrugged off recent speculation suggesting he could be Arsene Wenger's long-term replacement at Arsenal.
"I didn't really take any notice of that," said the Northern Irishman. "It is nice when guys like Charlie [Nicholas], who has been down there a long time, and Ray Parlour and whoever else say things like that. I've got experience of working at a big club so maybe that can have an influence. I went close with Liverpool with a team at the time which was eighth in the league. So I have got experience of a big club but I am happy to be at this club now."
As a boyhood supporter of Celtic, he feels he has a special insight into the club, and will never tire of managing in Scottish football. "We will play Rangers six times this season," he said. "I am sure there’s a timeline when, sometime, you might look at it. But you never get bored of winning. There might be other things you want to experience. But there’s never been a tired day since I’ve been here at Celtic. I drive in here and it’s like driving into the best cathedral in the world.
"I could be a manager till I’m 60, so that gives me another 16 years. But, in these next four years, I want to give everything to Celtic. I have no notion to be anywhere else but here."
Rodgers said that he hoped that signing an extended contract at the club would help others, who may be swithering over new deals to stay on. He said that the length of contract would allow him to see through the tenure recently afforded to exciting young players like Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney, while the club are hopeful of agreeing a new deal imminently with Stuart Armstrong, whose current deal is due to expire next summer.
“I look at the contracts of the players here and I want to help those players make the club the best we possibly can," said Rodgers. "That was one of the key factors for me. That’s why I love to work. I love to improve players individually and within a team. Young Kieran Tierney signed a five year deal last year and has four years to go. Dembele coming in on four years. These are guys I want to commit. I had one year because that was the agreement with the club at the beginning. But I want to see through the stability to stay for three, four, five years. I am am here for that, it hopefully shows them that this is the best place for them to be. I want to show them that I believe in what I say. Hopefully I can help nourish them for the most important part of their careers."
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