THERE was a time when a future Brendan Rodgers return to Celtic Park after his managerial reign had ended would surely have been a triumphant one. Mind you, there was also a time more recently when the thought of him rocking up in the East End of Glasgow again would result in a lynching.
As it was, when the man who led Celtic to the brink of a ‘Treble Treble’ - before abandoning ship for Leicester City before the 10-in-a-row dream could be realised – did eventually return to take in the recent win over Dundee United, it barely raised an eyebrow.
That’s because there is a new hero in town for the Celtic fans in the shape of Ange Postecoglou, of course, who ironically is shaping a side as exciting as anything Rodgers managed to put on the pitch during his own staggeringly successful tenure.
Even now, it may be difficult to find too many Celtic fans with a nice word to say about their former manager, but Rodgers was glowing in his own personal appraisal of the club and how much he treasures his time there when he spoke to Postecoglou prior to that United game.
Rodgers and Postecoglou go back a little way, and the current Celtic manager is grateful of the backing and advice proffered by his predecessor since he came to Glasgow from Japan.
“Brendan popped his head in before the game,” Postecoglou said. “It was great to see him.
“He’s someone I came across when he was Liverpool manager. They came down to Australia and I was coaching a club down there, Melbourne Victory. He was really kind with his time back then and since then I’ve kept in contact with him.
“He was one of the first people to reach out when I got the job. He’s been really supportive and has sent me a couple of really nice messages.
“It was good to catch up with him at the game. I’m sure he enjoyed being back at Celtic Park.
“He says it’s still the best experience of his football career in terms of the atmosphere and the environment of being at Celtic.
“It was great to see him.”
If the manner of Rodgers’ departure soured his legacy at Celtic, then the same could be said for Neil Lennon, albeit in very different circumstances.
Time may allow the Celtic fans to be a little kinder in their assessment of the contribution that both men made to the club, but Postecoglou is keenly aware of the hard acts he is following, and is appreciative of recent warm words that have come his way from Lennon too.
As the current Celtic manager is keen to point out whenever he can, the responsibility he carries is to bring success to the club for the fans first and foremost, but also for those who have gone before him and still care about Celtic's fortunes.
“It’s not something that I think about a lot in terms of the whole approval thing, but they are two people who were very, very successful at this football club,” he said.
“Neil Lennon is a Celtic man. He was here as a player and a manager. Part of my role at this football club is to represent everyone at this football club including past players and managers.
“Hopefully I produce a team that they are proud of because they will always be associated with this club and I know that they want this club to do well.
“If I’m pleasing them then I’m happy, because it means I’m taking the club in the right direction.”
A win over Raith Rovers tomorrow in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup would be a step towards another trophy for Celtic, but in order to add to the League Cup already tucked safely into the cabinet, Postecoglou has warned his players they must guard against complacency.
“It’s not that you discount the form we’re in or our performances,” he said. “But we really try to stress what’s got us to this place in terms of form and results, and that’s by making sure that our focus is always on the next game, and not just expecting because we are in good form to go out there on game day and it will just sort of happen.
“We prepare ourselves every week and for every game to make sure we are at our best and we’ve been close to that in the past eight games and for longer than that to be fair.
“That’s where we’ve just got to maintain real narrow thinking. What’s gone before us is great but what’s more important is what’s ahead of us and making sure we play our football and making sure we bring our intensity and tempo in all these games.”
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