New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers took part in two media events at Celtic Park this afternoon, one with the ‘mainstream’ broadcast media and another with assembled fan media outlets, including 67 Hail Hail.
The Bhoys boss addressed a number of topics across the afternoon including the ‘hurt’ caused by his exit to Leicester City and going up against Michael Beale.
The first question he was hit with in front of the fan representatives concerned his previous ‘frustrations’ with the hierarchy at Celtic, which were no secret and a contributing factor to his English Premier League move.
Asked about that and what’s now changed, Rodgers said: “When the club had asked me to consider coming back, I needed to see the infrastructure. When Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay came out and took me through where the club was at and what they’ve done over the last few years – from a manager’s perspective I was really impressed by that.
“Before, when I was here, it was maybe a little confused in terms of recruitment and in relation to bringing in players at that level and others from this level. Now, for me what a manager wants is clarity, and it’s very clear. When I see the evidence of that, and going through with Mark Lawwell – I spoke to him on the phone to get his feeling on it, and sat with him – and seeing the structure of that, it’s first-class from a manager’s perspective.”
This is exactly what we wanted to hear, of course. One of the big question marks around Rodgers’ return is his recruitment both in terms of players he identified to bring in during his first stint, as well as that apparent disconnect with the board and hierarchy around him.
If this has truly been resolved with Rodgers and the club now unified, we could be about to see the true potential of what he can achieve in Glasgow.
Undoubtedly, first-day press events are pretty stage-managed. The message is going to be positivity. The proof will be in actions not words during Rodgers’ second era. Nonetheless, his comments are a sign that things are ready to move in the right direction.
He simply wouldn’t be back in Scotland if he thought the same mistakes were about to occur again.
In other news, BBC Scotland release statement after being shut out of Brendan Rodgers Celtic unveiling.
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