WINNING the European Cup, never mind doing so with a team comprising 11 Scottish players who have all been born within a 30 mile radius of Parkhead, is an achievement that will, it is safe to say, never again be repeated by any Celtic manager.

Football has changed beyond recognition since 1967, when Jock Stein’s side famously defeated Helenio Herrera’s legendary Inter Milan team in Lisbon, and finance now dictates who are crowned champions of the continent.

Just qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League is an accomplishment of sorts for the man in charge at Celtic Park, whose budget is miniscule in comparison with those of his counterparts in England, France, Germany Italy and Spain, these days.

Yet, Brendan Rodgers’ feats during his time in charge of the Glasgow club will, it can also be stated with absolute certainty, not be matched by any of his successors in the years to come either.

The reaction to the Northern Irishman’s departure for Leicester City among supporters has been varied. There has been anger, disbelief, dismay and outrage. But in time Rodgers will be rightly remembered as one of Celtic’s greatest ever managers. Perhaps only Stein stands above him.

READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers leaves Celtic for Leicester City

The fact that Rangers were nowhere near the force they once were in Scottish football throughout his 33 month tenure undoubtedly made his task easier and enabled his charges to dominate domestically.

Will the Ibrox club ever again be such pushovers? Those online seers who predict another financial implosion down Govan way on an almost daily, in some cases hourly, basis would suggest they might. But it is unlikely.

It would, though, be churlish not to treat Rodgers’ deeds with due deference. Even with their traditional rivals struggling to re-establish themselves after years of off-field turmoil, the success he savoured was staggering.

To go an entire season undefeated – as Celtic did in the Northern Irishman’s debut campaign – was unprecedented in the modern era. They won the Betfred Cup, Ladbrokes Premiership and William Hill Scottish Cup to complete only the fourth treble in their 129 year existence. Invincibles indeed.

Scott Brown and his team mates set a new top flight points record (106), scored more goals than any of their predecessors (106) and won more games than any side before (34). The fact they did it all on the 50th anniversary of that fabled triumph in the Estadio Nacional just made it all the sweeter for their supporters.

There was no hangover either. The following campaign Celtic extended their undefeated run to 69 games and broke their own 100 year old record of 62 matches in the process.

Rodgers went on to become the first Scottish manager to lead a team to a second consecutive treble – something that eluded Jock Stein, Jock Wallace, Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat.

Who is to say he would not have done so for a third time had he remained in situ? A third successive Betfred Cup was won with ease and his men are eight points clear in the Premiership and in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

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What is more, Celtic did it all playing, to quote Stein, pure, beautiful, inventive football. Taking a defensive approach was anathema to Rodgers. Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Dembele, James Forrest, Leigh Griffiths, Callum McGregor, Patrick Roberts and Scott Sinclair all flourished in the swashbuckling system their manager deployed. Spectators were royally entertained.

The remarkable goal in the 5-2 win against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in the 2016/17 season, when every player in the side, including goalkeeper Craig Gordon, touched the ball before Dembele netted to complete his hat-trick encapsulated the brand of total football they often produced.

Seeing players like Armstrong, Brown, Forrest, McGregor and Kieran Tierney flourish under his watchful eye was uplifting for anyone who cares about the future of Scottish football.

Then there were the Rangers games. The manager at either of the main Glasgow clubs is judged on how he fares in the derby games. To some fans, victory in them is even more important than silverware. But Rodgers’ record was second to none.

Celtic thrashed Rangers 5-1 in the East End in his first experience of the world-famous fixture – thanks in no small part to Dembele becoming the first Parkhead player since Harry Hood 43 years earlier to bag a hat-trick against Rangers – and they very much continued in that vein.

His record stands up to very close scrutiny. He was in the dugout for 13 of them, won 10, drew two and lost just one. His team scored 31 goals and conceded just seven.

Rodgers was by no means beyond criticism. In Europe especially. Celtic excelled in qualifying campaigns. His team made it through to the Champions League group stages, something that was worth in excess of £80 million, in his first two seasons. But in the competition proper their fortunes were mixed to say the least.

READ MORE: The highs and lows of Brendan Rodgers' time at Celtic

There were draws with Manchester City home and away and Borussia Moenchengladbach away and a fine win over Anderlecht away too. There was a gallant display against Bayern Munich at home.

But there was also disappointment and embarrassment too. The 7-0 defeat they slumped to against Barcelona in the Nou Camp in 2016 was their worst on the continent. The 5-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 was their heaviest at home. The 7-1 reverse than followed away wasn’t much better.

Now, those teams can afford to lavish astronomical sums on players. The PSG forward line of Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar cost over £400 million and was the most expensive ever assembled. Celtic had young Anthony Ralston at right back.

That said, Rodgers’ unwillingness to approach those games more cautiously was admirable but naïve. His argument was that his players would never develop and improve if he “parked the bus”. But if greats like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and even Jock Stein could compromise their principles when the occasion demands it then why couldn’t he?

His track record in the transfer market was also patchy. Scott Bain, Dembele, Sinclair, Olivier Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard all justified the outlay it took to secure their services. The less said about Marvin Compper and Eboue Kouassi the better.

However, those are minor criticisms. Many great men, including Willie Maley, Jimmy McGrory, Billy McNeill, Davie Hay, Tommy Burns, Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon, have managed Celtic with noteworthy results since 1888.

O’Neill also won seven trophies at a time when the competition, not least from the other side of the city, was far more intense. What is more, he reached the UEFA Cup final in 2003. But he was in the job for five years and had greater funds to spend in the transfer marker and a far better quality of player at his disposal.

Only Jock Stein stands above Brendan Rodgers in the pantheon of Celtic managerial greats.