The appointment of Brendan Rodgers not only raised a few eyebrows with the Celtic fans, but also kept Scottish football in the media limelight.
The loss of Ange Postecoglou to Tottenham Hotspur hit the headlines as it was the first time a manager had left Scotland and landed one of the top jobs in England.
And how did Celtic counter that? By appointing an elite manager in Rodgers. And Livingston boss, David Martindale couldn’t help but praise Celtic for managing to attract the Irishman back to the club for a second spell.
Martindale said [The Herald print edition page 77]: “He’s one of the best British managers at this point in time, it shows the value of the league and the strength of Celtic that they can attract Brendan Rodgers back to their football club.
“I’ve no doubt that Brendan could have been managing in the Premier League.
“He probably had a lot of opportunities to go to other countries so it shows you how strong the Scottish game is.”
There is no doubt Rodgers could manage at a higher level than the Scottish game. But the pull of Celtic has clearly proven too much to resist for him.
The Hoops manager clearly has unfinished business at Celtic and has already started making headway in his plans in the transfer market to take us forward.
And of course, Martindale is correct. Celtic’s financial muscle to pull off this deal should not be underestimated as well. To be able to afford a manager of Rodgers’ calibre and to also offer him the financial capability to make inroads in Europe is incredible for a club that earns its living in Scotland.
Celtic’s financial model is such that it doesn’t solely rely on prize money in Scotland to make these deals possible. The club’s player trading model coupled with the successful partnership with Adidas have provided us with the financial muscle to make these kinds of deals affordable not only now, but also in the future.
This is a great time to be a Celtic fan right now. We have the opportunity with Rodgers at the helm to put some real daylight between ourselves and our rivals and it seems that the Celtic board are intent on doing just that.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers compares Celtic star to ex-Liverpool striker
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