'Commitment' and the human side of Brendan Rodgers - Tony Haggerty

The managerial Messiah left Celtic to take over the managerial reins of Leicester City in 2019.

Some of the fans have never forgiven him for walking out on the club back then.

However, the Northern Irishman could yet be on his way back through Parkhead's famous glass doors for a second managerial stint.

The extract below featured as a chapter in Celtic Way writer's Tony Haggerty's new book: "Gonnae Gie's a Lift O'er Mister?', published by Amazon in December 2022.

It gives a rare and unique insight into the human side of Rodgers.

Brendan Rodgers arrived at Celtic for the start of season 2016/17.

It was a massive coup when the club announced they had landed their man.

Some 13,000 supporters turned up to Paradise to cheer their new managerial hero on at his unveiling.

The former Liverpool boss and the self-confessed lifelong Celtic fan said: “I’ve just landed my dream job. The team I’ve supported all my life.”

The Northern Irishman won seven successive trophies including back-to-back trebles in 2016/17 and 2017/18 before his shock departure to Leicester City in February 2019 just as he stood on the brink of an unprecedented 'Treble-Treble'.

The first of Rodgers' clean sweeps in his maiden season was achieved unbeaten.

His men claimed all three pieces of silverware for only the fourth time in the club's history as the Celtic team became known as the Invincibles with a record points haul of 106 in the process. He also guided Celtic to a 69-match unbeaten run and lost once in 13 matches against city rivals Rangers.

Despite helping Celtic qualify for the Champions League group stages twice in succession it was a different story in the European arena as the club suffered some heavy defeats including a record 7-0 loss to Barcelona - the Hoops' worst ever result in Europe - as well as 0-5 and 7-1 reverses to PSG which were sobering experiences.

Domestically though, Rodgers was imperious.

READ MORE: Brendan Rodgers on Celtic redemption trail as fans 'thaw' on ex boss

For many Celtic supporters, the Rodgers era is still classed as one of the best times in their football-supporting lives. He gave them many great memories including two 5-1 victories and 5-0 and 4-0 triumphs over Rangers. In fact, the Light Blues failed to really lay a glove on Rodgers’ Celtic teams.

Ironically three years previous to pitching up in Glasgow, Rodgers had come within an ace of steering Liverpool to the English Premier League title in 2013/14. Liverpool had led the title race by five points with just three matches to play.

However, they then suffered a 2–0 home defeat to Chelsea in late April which handed the initiative to Manchester City. In their next game away to Crystal Palace in May, Liverpool led 3–0 with 11 minutes to go, but the game finished 3–3.

The Reds ended the season as Premier League runners-up, two points behind champions Manchester City. Rodgers was eventually sacked by the Merseysiders in October 2015.

In May 2016, some 13,000 Celtic supporters turned up at Paradise to see Rodgers unveiled as the new manager.

If Rodgers was good for Celtic then Celtic was most certainly good for Rodgers. After all, it was they who had put Rodgers back on the EPL managerial map.

He rebuilt his managerial image in Paradise and then some.

It was a reputation that could so easily have been tarnished and trashed because of the way it all soured at Anfield. Rodgers and Celtic were the perfect fit.

By 2019, Rodgers was box office again but he opted to hot-foot it to Leicester City just as an ambitious Rangers had recruited his former Reds pupil, Steven Gerrard.

That largely explains why the Celtic supporters took it so badly when he returned home to the self-proclaimed best football league in the world - the EPL.

Few could blame him. Many did.

Not since the days of Jock Stein and Martin O'Neill did Celtic have a manager that so obviously oozed class.

READ MORE: Celtic legend Jock Stein remembered: Three Kings filmmaker Jonny Owen on the great man's legacy

He spoke about football with genuine wisdom. His press conferences were wonderful affairs and had every journalist clamouring to be given the Celtic gig that day.

Rodgers commanded instant respect.

He got the buy-in from the Celtic players, the club's supporters, his managerial peers as well as the press.

I have one major regret during Brendan Rodgers's time at Celtic.

After the Invincible season, Rodgers gave the Scottish media a rare and fantastic insight into what makes him tick as a football manager.

He treated the journalists to the exact same PowerPoint presentation that he gave to the Celtic players on the day he walked through the famous glass doors. I am gutted to this day that I was not assigned Celtic presser duties on that occasion.

Rodgers's interviews were just compulsory listening. The supporters lapped it all up.

He was not just another manager and felt cut from the same cloth as Stein and O'Neill.

He was statesmanlike. When he spoke, you listened intently. He just had a natural way with people. Rodgers radiated warmth, and enthusiasm but above all else happiness.

He had a wonderful trait of taking time out to talk to work-experience kids before press conferences.

Rodgers would come into the room and spy a new face. He'd ask their name and make a brilliant fuss of them for a good five or 10 minutes before the press conference had even started.

That would put the youngster at ease and more often than not the kid couldn't believe that the Celtic manager had devoted so much time to them.

It was a joy to watch in action. That personal touch. It was a real touch of class.

Rodgers got Celtic. He was a wonderful ambassador for the club at all times.

I can just imagine every school kid going home as proud as punch and telling their parents and friends how Brendan Rodgers gave them some invaluable one-to-one time.

How delighted would you be as a parent if that was your child's memory of their visit to Lennoxtown on work experience with the media?

It was priceless.

Rodgers knew that fine well.

He also knew how to give masterclasses in Celtic public relations.

I was to find all that out for myself when I attended a night at the Hydro in Glasgow back in October 2017 to promote his autobiography: 'The Road To Paradise'.

It was a fantastic evening as Eamonn Holmes hosted a Q&A with the Celtic boss with his adoring public in attendance.

The assembled press pack had gathered in a side room hoping that Rodgers would speak to us about their up-and-coming Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.

Rodgers duly obliged.

He spoke of his own European memories of growing up in Carnlough watching Celtic play Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the UEFA Cup 1983 and reminisced about the players that he admired most like Paul McStay.

READ MORE: Brian Clough, Celtic and 20 half-lagers: The 1983 Battle of Britain

Rodgers didn't have to speak to the press that night. He did it because he wanted to.

He understood Celtic from top to bottom and everything that exuded from the club via his message was positivity.

As a bonus ball, we dared to ask Rodgers and the Celtic PR machine if we could get a signed copy of the book.

My father adored Brendan Rodgers. His managerial idol was Jock Stein.

However, he admitted that in Martin O'Neill and Brendan Rodgers, Celtic had another manager in the Jock Stein ilk.

I wanted to get Rodgers to sign a book for him.

I knew him as we had met in press conference situations.

He shot me a warm glance and beamed a huge smile as I approached him with a copy of his autobiography in hand.

I nervously said: "Hi Brendan, can you sign this: 'To Danny, and just write 'Commitment', my dad will understand what that means, and it will mean a lot to him. Thank you, I appreciate it kindly sir."

"You're not leaving me hanging like that Tony. What's the significance of the word 'Commitment'? Why 'Commitment'?

I proceeded to tell Rodgers that it was the motto of my father's highly successful amateur football team - Millerfield - that he was the manager of for a decade.

I told him how the team players all hailed from Dalmarnock, Bridgeton, Parkhead and the surrounding areas of Glasgow.

It was filled with mates from school as well as lifelong friends who had all grown up together and who supported either Celtic or Rangers.

My father said all he ever asked from the players who turned out for his team was 'Commitment' to the cause.

The Millerfield cause.

I told Rodgers that much of my childhood was spent watching my dad's team and that we would go to see Celtic whenever Millerfield were not in action.

I thought nothing of it.

He then told me to pull up a chair and we discussed the merits and successes of a team he had never even heard of. We spoke about how much the father/son/football relationship had influenced my chosen career.

I told him how my father was my hero - sporting or otherwise.

Rodgers was especially taken with that fact.

We spoke about tactics as my father swore that there was only ever one formation in football (4-4-2) as long as it was done right. His words, not mine.

I felt like I was taking up too much of his valuable time. We spoke for about 15 minutes.

Rodgers was totally enthralled by Millerfield as I gave him a potted history of the club.

He asked about the players, he congratulated my dad on the trophy successes he achieved.

For purely selfish and personal reasons it remains a golden and special memory of Rodgers's managerial stint at Celtic and Rodgers signed the book with pleasure.

"Tony, tell your dad this one thing from me.

"See that one-word motto 'Commitment'.

"From one football manager to another - tell Danny, I absolutely love that.

"Without 'Commitment' from the players, you don't have a football team.

"Thanks for sharing that story with me."

I immediately thought of every school kid who had ever visited Lennoxtown on media work experience and how they must have felt after meeting the Celtic manager.

For 15 wonderful minutes, he was totally invested in my father's football team.

He showed 'Commitment' to the Millerfield cause.

It was another Brendan Rodgers masterclass.

I drove back to my parents' house at breakneck speed that night.

"Hey, Dad, you're never going to guess what happened at the Hydro tonight?

"Yes, Brendan Rodgers signed a copy of the book for you.

"Dad, I'm not joking, we even spoke about Millerfield.

"I've also to pass this message on to you..."

I was 45 going on 13 when this happened.

I'm still a nearly grown man to this day.