Q: The same must go for them. As you’re writing off that tension and anxiety, it must be 100 times more for yourself. Did you try to celebrate it and how did you?
Brendan Rodgers: “How did I celebrate it? No, I went back to the stadium. I had a nice cup of drinks with the people there and the staff and everything, which was great. I went back home. You don’t sleep well after games like that. So, because you go back, you watch the game, and you try to analyse and review. So, Monday was more sort of a down day with family. On Tuesday, I flew to Dublin to have a meeting with Dermot, me, Michael (Nicholson) and Chris (McKay) and the staff and just talked about January and what we normally do. And then I got back from that and I watched the B team final. So, and then obviously back into work. So, for the manager and the coaches, we’re always looking forward. But, of course, after the game and the day after, you have to celebrate.”
Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson at Dingwall on Sunday . Photo Vagelis Georgariou
Q: Does that meeting suggest that when every victory has gone, immediately, you’ve got to keep looking forward and planning and progressing?
Brendan Rodgers: “I think we said before, you don’t wait for the future to plan for it. So, it has been the aspect of here. We have a board and a major shareholder who are so invested in the club and the success of the club and how they lead the club. You only need to look at over the last couple of decades, how the club has run and organised, which is at the very, very highest level of any business, how it can be. But there’s also a real passion for the team, clearly, to do well as well. So, it’s so important. Dermot is absolutely entrenched in the whole, you know, his whole role of Celtic as a major shareholder, but also as a supporter. So, you know, the first thing he does get up in the morning is think about Celtic. And the last thing at night, he thinks about Celtic. And so there’s always that connection. There’s always that great level of intelligence on our board and expertise and experience. And that’s what we try to use to the best of our advantage. So, for us, it’s always about planning. It’s always looking forward. And obviously, the key people within that talking about it is important.”
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 Dermot Desmond on the 18th tee during the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 on the Old Course at St. Andrews Golf CLub, Fife, . 06/10/2024. Picture Fran Caffrey / Golffile.ie
Q: He doesn’t get a lot of thanks and praise, Dermot, but I think over his 30 years, I was actually looking at this, Dermot has had 45 trophies during his tenure. It’s 38 per cent of Celtic’s total. I mean, he gets this kind of absentee landlord thing. But as you say, his commitment is pretty thorough, isn’t it?
Brendan Rodgers: “Oh, his passion, his energy and enthusiasm for Celtic, it’s unswerving. His commitment to the club is incredible. Yeah, he’s not one that wants to be out there. And rightly so, he’s not going to be out there. You don’t see his face all the time, but that should not mean that he’s not interested. Because I can tell you from myself, having worked here twice, I know the passion and the love he has for Celtic and his club and as a supporter. So, yeah, these types of things sometimes come up if the team loses a game. But it’s all a myth. He’s so unswerving in his commitment to Celtic, everything he gives to it. And obviously, the support I’ve had from him over my two spells has been absolutely incredible. So, yeah, it was nice really to get together with him and spend some hours just looking at where we’re at and how we go forward in January and beyond.”
Kieran Tierney during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Q: You mentioned the future there, but you’ve been linked with Kieran Tierney through this week. What kind of memories do you have of having him as a player previously at Celtic?
Brendan Rodgers: “Yeah, we’ll always be linked with top players – especially players that are one of us. So, Kieran was an instrumental part of a really, really successful period when I was here. And his talents then took him on to another challenge in the Premier League. So, yeah, we’ll be linked with lots of names, Kieran, obviously, naturally because of his situation. But for us, we’ll only ever tell you when we sign a player, once he’s signed.”
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