Why managing Celtic has been the measure of Rodgers dreams

The reason is simple. To borrow a line from one of MacGowan's best-ever crafted songs 'A Rainy Night in Soho', the Glasgow derby for Rodgers in both spells as Celtic manager has turned out to be the 'measure of my dreams'.

There's been no half-measures with the Northern Irishman. His record is stunning. Played 16 won 12, drew three, and lost one. He is well aware of his record. He is reminded of it constantly.

The 51-year-old has managed in a Merseyside derby, a Swansea v Cardiff derby but nothing gets the measure of a Glasgow derby. Not for Rodgers. It is a fixture steeped and dripping with history. He's been immersed in it since he was a kid.

Celtic can take a historical step towards another Scottish Premiership title if they can get the measure of their city rivals at Parkhead in the last derby instalment in the league this season. Rodgers is well aware of the significance of winning a world-renowned match. He feels honoured and privileged to lead Celtic in what he deems an 'iconic fixture'.

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Rodgers said: "The whole occasion, the build-up, the intensity in the stadium of course, and just the overall emotion around them, are absolutely fantastic. It is something I have always enjoyed, no matter what stadium it is, Celtic Park, Ibrox, Hampden, they are great games to be involved in.

"I've got to be honest, I go into every game, and people will reference the record, but the mindset is to go in and forget about what has happened before. You can't rely on that.

"It's the preparation, the calmness of the team, the build-up to the games are relaxed but focused and then of course you have to perform. The players over both of my periods here have performed so, so well in these games. I am looking forward to this game. With 60,000 supporters, the pitch will be magnificent, and it's a chance for us to perform.

"You do think about the history when you are involved in these fixtures. As a boy growing up and seeing these games, watching them and feeling the emotion. I remember my very first derby game as Celtic manager when we won 5-1 at home in September 2016.

"You take yourself back because you are a supporter really on the side of the pitch when you get the chance to manage the team. That’s where the privilege comes from and the honour. These are games I’ve watched all my life. Now I’ve been involved in quite a few of them, certainly, nothing gets mundane. I think by the end of the season we’ll have played five times.

"For me, it’s only excitement and sheer passion. I’ve been involved in Liverpool v Manchester United, and Liverpool v Everton, great games, Swansea v Cardiff was a great derby game as well. This is different. The feeling, the tension, it is an iconic fixture. I’m very privileged to manage Celtic in it."

Rodgers certainly got the measure of his opposite number in the mind games stake in the build-up to this encounter. Rangers manager Philippe Clement, the Light Blues supporters and sections of the media got their knickers in a twist over Rodgers's 'have fun' comments in his after-match press conference when Celtic defeated Hearts 3-0 at Parkhead last weekend.

The Belgian and his followers seemed triggered branding Rodgers's remarks disrespectful. Rodgers didn't care a jot. He was measured in his response but admitted he was surprised at the overreaction.

He said: "I think anyone who was at my press conference would have sensed how it was said. The reaction to that is totally without merit. It has no context whatsoever. You mention my past record in these games, I have never referred to these other than being intense and being competitive.

"We never talk about the game as that but we talk about the whole occasion. The occasion is one of the most iconic games in world football and I love it. It's one of the reasons I am here, the great pride and privilege I have in managing Celtic in a Rangers game. So the whole emotion, the entire feeling around this game is amazing.

"I have seen some of the headlines around the disrespect and whatever else but it is totally without merit. It was never in that context being said, and I never would be that person to disrespect another manager or another team but I suppose it's part of the build-up for you guys.

"I don't know what pressure does to other people, I can only talk for myself. I have loved these fixtures, it was the ones I was looking forward to since being up here the first time.

"The record is great but it's always about building - building more memories and great occasions in this game but everyone responds and reacts in different ways.

"I understand the feeling and tension that can be around this game but that's not me. My job is to find the calmness for the team and the players have been very, very relaxed but focused this week. The preparation has been first class, and that allows us to go into the game ready."

Celtic can wrap one big hand around the Premiership trophy with a win against their rivals in G40. Victory would put Celtic six points clear with two games left to play in the race for the league flag. Rodgers trusts his players implicitly to carry out his instructions to the letter of the law and to be focused on the job at hand. The Celtic player's trust issue when it comes to their manager is very much a reciprocal arrangement.

He said: "That consistency and knowing what you're going to get from people in a high-stakes game, in a game of tension and a game of pressure. Whether that's the manager or a player, it's great to look at that. It is important.

"It's a great opportunity. Nothing will be won, we need to go and perform well, we need to work hard, we need to be intense, and we need to ensure that our game is at a good level. We'll have an amazing support which will just take us through the game, that wave of emotion, and hopefully, we can entertain the supporters as well on the field.

"Primarily, the job is to get the three points and if we can do that it puts us in a brilliant position with two games to go. We're very focused on ourselves and being in here and doing their work. I think the players know by the time they arrive at the game tomorrow that they've had a really good week of preparation.

"We've looked at various scenarios that may happen, that can happen in the game, and when you go into the game with that clarity and that sole focus on performance then you have to take that into the game and ignore everything else that's going around. I say ignore it, but it is a massive part of this game – and that's for the supporters and that's for everyone else to be excited about and to look at.

"That's what makes this fixture unique in many, many ways, the passion, the tension, the build-up, and, of course, where we are at this point in the season and being so close, that adds a bit more spice to it as well. For us, it's just about our football and staying focused on that.

"For us, we intend to win the game, so we don't prepare for anything else. We look to attack the game, and that's our only focus and we'll see where that brings us. It's a culture and an environment that's created here. There's winning, but the build-up to how you win is important and that breeds confidence.

"I think what really helps is the fact that when I'm here, along with myself, I look around the team and I look at the staff and there's players here and people here that have done it. They understand what it takes. Callum McGregor and James Forrest as well as some of the other guys who've been here for a few years have done it like John Kennedy and Stevie Woods who are on the staff. "That gives you that confidence and understanding of what it takes. When you have that, you can approach this with a calmness that allows you to focus on the performance and not get too carried away with all the noise."

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A lot has been made of the fact that it has not been a vintage Celtic under Rodgers this season and that at one point an eight-point lead has been allowed to evaporate. Whether it is a slender three-point advantage or a landslide thirty points clear. It's all the same to Rodgers and his team but he insists that his men will deserve credit if they can get this title over the line.

He said: "I wouldn’t necessarily say I took over a squad of Treble winners. It was a team of Treble winners. The team has had major gaps. It was a real challenge. There’s no denying that. You always have to back your players, back our process, back yourself, stay calm and know that if you can keep working and keep chipping away, you can get to a level at the most important part of the season.

"That’s eventually what’s happened. Sometimes it hasn’t been perfect. The reality is that it doesn’t have to be perfect in football. You just have to try to get better every single day, in every single game, and that can take you where you want to get to.

"That’s how it’s worked out for us. We still have a massive job to do starting tomorrow but if we can get a good performance and a good result, then we are nearly there.

"The players deserve a huge amount of credit because when the flak has been flying, and it has been for a lot of this season, they’ve stayed strong and believed and stayed with the process.

"I have to say from a personal perspective it doesn’t feel any different. Other times where we have had leads or not, or this one where it is tight, the focus is really on the next game and performing to the very highest level we possibly can.

"In my first season here, we had an invincible season and could have easily checked out of that long before we did. The mentality is to win and win in the best way we very possibly can. That took us to the end of that season unbeaten and we achieved a great season.

"So for me, it never changes, whether you are three points clear or 30 points clear being the best we can possibly be, finishing the season as strongly as we can so that we can take a really strong positive start into next season. It doesn’t feel any different because the focus is always on ourselves.

"Our measure is us."

For Rodgers, Celtic always has been and always will be: "The measure of his dreams."