Lovely jubbly for Rodgers

Published 3rd Sep 2018

Lovers of telly nostalgia will remember the scene well.

Del Boy Trotter and his brother Rodney are composing themselves after discovering that a timepiece they found has fetched a multi-million pound sum at auction in Sotheby's.

The senior partner in the firm then sums up the sudden, life changing windfall they have just been handed with the words, "We've had worse days."

If you have banked £20m from the sale of a player, Moussa Dembele, who had become a disruptive influence and beaten your greatest rivals in quick succession then Del Boys words could just as easily have been spoken by Brendan Rodgers at the end of his team's win over Rangers.

It's a fair old trick when you think about it.

Celtic had experienced a transfer window so patently poor that the banner writers had composed the message "Back the manager or back to mediocrity" for public display at one game.

Then came elimination from the Champions Leaguie and the refusal of one player, Dedryck Boyata, to take part in the game which confirmed non-qualification.

This also prompted the sign writers to flourish their "Boyata. Not fit to wear the jersey" banner at the game against Hamilton Accies which came precisely one week before the defeat of Rangers.

In summary, these were not the circumstances under which you might have expected a team to produce a performance un-equalled for style, endeavour and accomplishment at any previous stage in the season.

But Rodgers demonstrated a mastery of man management on Sunday.

He had diffused the potentially poisonous Dembele situation by banishing the player from training on Friday morning so that he could "Protect the environment" in the interests of the other players.

In other words, a bad apple was thrown to one side and the manager focused on getting his committed players into the right frame of mind for a pivotal league match.

Dembele was subsequently sold after Rodgers had proved in front of witnesses at a meeting that the French player had not been on the receiving end of any broken promises regarding his immediate future.

That is quick, decisive management.

Whatever was said to Boyata thereafter had the desired effect as well.

Having sat through the game against Hamilton and observed Boyata's body language, which was that of a man who would rather have been somewhere else, it was remarkable to watch the Belgian international exhibit a defensive display of such quality against Rangers.

And be cheered to the echo by the same supporters who booed him every time he touched the ball the previous Sunday.

Rodgers clearly possesses powers of motivation which can unravel minds and bring positivity where there was confusion and concern of the type that can be created when your agent is storming Celtic's training ground and demanding that the manager accede to his every wish.

Rodgers has renewed his credentials as a significant leader of men after the crushing disappointment of the loss to AEK Athens.

And the notion persists that if AEK had worn Rangers jerseys on the night they beat Celtic in Athens then it would have been Rodgers' side who would have gone into the Champions League group stages.

Celtic's display on Sunday was reminiscent of men who'd had the memory jogged of what it was like to play in a double treble-winning side.

It was as emphatic as any of the wins over Rangers that came with more exotic scorelines in previous seasons under Rodgers.

And it now adds a fresh dimension to the Steven Gerrard factor at Ibrox.

Now it is five points from twelve for the new Rangers manager.

Now they find themselves seven points adrift of Hearts, never mind the gap between themselves and Celtic.

All of which is less dramatic than it sounds since there are still thirty-four league games left to play, but none of which provides solace for supporters who thought there would be better to enjoy at Celtic Park.

Rangers have shown initiative in getting Gerrard in the first place and backed their manager to the tune of many millions of pounds when acquiring numerous new players.

Qualification for the Europa League has also come as a present for those fans who can remember the dark days of being two goals up on Alloa Athletic and losing 3 - 2 in Clackmannanshire one dismal, midweek night during the trawl through the lower leagues.

But in the narrow confines of Scottish football's domestic world only one thing truly matters to the Rangers supporters, and that is preventing Celtic from winning ten league titles in a row.

Some, not all, had hoped the acquisition of eight titles in succession for Celtic would be halted this season.

If Sunday's game is anything to go by, that might be easier said than done.

And what if Gerrard can't stop Rodgers in his tracks? What then?

The now closed transfer window brought the Celtic fans to a state approaching apoplexy. A review of what went wrong has been promised by Rodgers.

Might Celtic compensate for what has gone wrong by spending big in the next window?

If that is the case, Rangers' chances of over-hauling their rivals would diminish.

In the meantime, one sentence uttered by Rodgers in his post-match press conference on Sunday was revealing.

He said, "You need to have calmness about you to play well."

How he achieved that state of mind on a collective basis amid the febrile atmosphere of a game that Celtic dared not lose is another testament to the manager's powers of persuasion.

Working your socks off is an obligation for any team, as the manager also testified.

But he inspired his side to heights of achievement which laid down a significant marker on a domestic basis.

It might be thought unfathomable that a double treble winner could be criticised by his own fans, but there were negative comments made before Sunday's derby.

It wasn't just the likes of Boyata and Olivier N'tcham whose reputations were enhanced during the defeat of Rangers.

The manager showed who was boss as well