Celtic’s first transformation under Brendan Rodgers was well-documented.
But when Rodgers returned to replace Ange Postecoglou, the club was in a much better place, having just secured a treble.
After a rough start, Rodgers quickly set about building a successful Celtic team in his image, qualifying the club for the Champions League knockouts for the first time in over a decade in his second season.
Everyone could see the differences in the tactical approach on the pitch, with the chaos of ‘Angeball’ swapped for more control with Rodgers.
But what about what we couldn’t see? Darren O’Dea witnessed it first hand as the B team manager, and has looked back on the subtle improvements.
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Darren O’Dea on Brendan Rodgers at Celtic
Rodgers’ experience at elite clubs in Liverpool and Chelsea was invaluable to Celtic.
But his second spell came after a period at Leicester, who opened one of the most impressive training facilities in the UK during his tenure.
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O’Dea has revisited this revolution, speaking on the Go Radio Football Show about the changes made by the Irishman.
He said: “Brendan… when he came in the door, the standards of everything changed.
“When people wonder, ‘what does that mean?’ Brendan changed the office spaces, things that weren’t broken, that you wouldn’t naturally think of doing or changing.
“For him, he’d seen what Liverpool looked like. He’d seen the elite. So he was like, ‘no, this isn’t good enough.’
“Whether it be the grass coming in on the drive up to Lennoxtown, he would always be on those little things.
“The things that you think don’t matter, to people of that ilk, matter. Everything matters. And ultimately, that’s what happens.
“It just starts reverberating around the club.”
Rodgers is now in Saudi Arabia, where he is unlikely to have any issues with transfer business similar to the ones that led to his resignation at Celtic.
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Brendan Rodgers’ final months at Celtic
Rodgers is known for his political approach to media handling – but this season, he took it to a whole different level.
His first press conference after the closure of the transfer window was quite something. He described feeling ’empty’, and blasted the ‘cowardly action’ of a club insider who briefed against him.
When asked if he knew the identity of the leak, he said ‘no’… with a subtle wink.
But if there’s one comment which sealed his fate, it was probably the Honda Civic analogy at Dens Park, which was widely derided in the media.
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