Brendan Rodgers’ return to Celtic and the reasons why he came back to the club have been well documented over the last week.
From his regret at hurting the supporters when he left to join Leicester City in 2019 to wanting to make Celtic a force in Europe again, Rodgers has come back to the club with more than a point to prove.
But speaking to Sky Sports presenter Tubes whilst playing a round of golf after signing for Celtic for a second time, Rodgers was asked what it’s like to be involved in the Glasgow Derby games as the Celtic manager.
Rodgers said [Tubes and Ange Golf Life], “They are amazing. Having been involved in Liverpool/Manchester United and Liverpool/Everton games that are tough and even Swansea/Cardiff was a big derby as well in the championship.
“But I have to say the Celtic/Rangers game, there’s nothing like it. The intensity, the passion, there’s so many reasons as to why it’s it’s so tense but when you come out another side and get the result then it’s an amazing feeling.”
During his time as the Celtic manager the first time around, Rodgers never lost a Glasgow Derby. His introduction to the fixture was the infamous 5-1 game in September 2016 when new signing, Moussa Dembele grabbed himself a hattrick.
Out of the eleven fixtures Rodgers contested as the Celtic manager in this fixture, he won nine and drew two of them.
In my opinion, two of the most iconic wins were the 5-1 away win at Ibrox in the final derby of the Invincibles season. Goals from Scott Sinclair, Leigh Griffiths, Callum McGregor, Dedryk Boyata and the mazy run by Mikael Lustig made this an unforgettable derby for the Celtic fans.
And then there was the 3-2 win at Ibrox the following season. Down to ten men, after Jozo Simunovic saw red for an elbow on Alfredo Morelos, Rodgers pulled a masterstroke by subbing on Odsonne Edouard for James Forrest and the Frenchman scored the winner in a game that will live long in the memory for the Hoops supporters.
Now Rodgers has got at least four of these fixtures to look forward to next season and I cannot wait to see what kinds of results he will manage to pull off with this current Celtic squad.
In other news, Report: Burnley linked to Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi
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