Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers employed a media tactic this week to try and change the narrative surrounding his Bhoys team this season.
After the thumping second-half comeback against Motherwell on Sunday, Rodgers was pretty short with reporters and drew headlines for a particular interview with BBC Radio Scotland.
It’s clear he feels his side have come in for some undue criticism this season, communicating his belief that some of this has been driven by the press.
The Bhoys boss is now actively addressing the perceptions around his team and this week held a meeting with a small group of print press journalists at Lennoxtown to present some video footage and talk through his tactical approach.
The Daily Record reports that, on Tuesday, he gave something of a tactical tutorial to reporters for around half an hour, showcasing various Celtic goals from the last few years – under his watch and from the Ange Postecoglou era.
The conclusion from Keith Jackson is that Rodgers was attempting to show there are more similarities between his tactical approach and Postecoglou’s than many people have assumed.
AngeBall, as many called it, had a fantastic reputation during the Australian’s tenure and it seems that the current Celtic manager feels his system isn’t too dissimilar – despite all the criticism.
Whether a valid argument or not, it does show that Rodgers is fighting back against his critics rather than simply allowing his position and authority to be weakened.
We want to see him take pride in his job and feel bullish about Celtic’s fortunes, that kind of attitude is surely more beneficial to results and performances.
Ultimately, firm verdicts are reached about the job a manager is doing from evidence on the pitch. Few would deny Celtic have looked slow and ponderous on occasion this season with some of the football looking a million miles away from the Postecoglou reign.
Is that down to a reduced quality of player rather than Rodgers’ tactics? Perhaps this is the kind of question the manager wants out there.
Either way, thankfully, forward play has been a lot more direct and incisive in recent matches, so there’s hope yet that these players can find the kind of relentlessness that defined the previous two seasons.
If Rodgers now takes Celtic on a winning run and can inspire his side to consistently perform like they did on Wednesday night, much of the criticism that has come his way will start to dry up.
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