BRENDAN RODGERS last night paid a glowing tribute to Mark Warburton and also took a veiled dig at the way Rangers are being run compared to Celtic.
The Northern Irishman insisted the first aspect any potential manager would look at before joining a club was how it’s run at the top and whether he would be able to work under the hierarchy.
And while he did not specifically name Rangers, it was clear where Rodgers, who worked with Warburton at Watford, was coming from as he revealed that the strongest factor which persuaded him on a move to Glasgow was how the Celtic board operated.
“The key thing you look at as a manager before anything is the alignment at the top of the club. I came into here and I looked to see if it is aligned at the top of the club,” Rodgers.
“One in terms of the interest, that’s shareholders and their interest, and two it’s strategy. If you don’t have that alignment, you can put in what you want, a director of football or four managers, it’s very, very tough.
“If there is alignment at that level, it will allow you to build, develop and grow. If a serious manager is looking, it is something that has to be right. If they think it’s workable it can be a good job.
”I came to Celtic because of the stability of the board, the intellect of the board. I knew, when I met and spoke with them, what they were about and what their interests were.
“I needed to ensure that the strategy which I wanted to work was aligned with that. There is no big confusion. There are major shareholders at Celtic who invest in the club. But sensibly. There is consistency in how the club is run. There is no fragmented approach. It’s very simple.
“Peter (Lawwell) on a day-to-day basis. Me in football. That’s it. I speak with Dermot (Desmond); that’s the leadership. There is no messages on email, no nothing. It’s very simple and simplicity is the best way.”
Rodgers and Warburton are friendly and while they haven’t spoken since the dramatic events of last Friday, the Northern Irishman sent his old coach a message of support and he was happy to make his feeling public.
“I can’t help but feel disappointed for him and Davie (Weir) and Frank (McParland),” said Rodgers. “I remember after the Celtic-Rangers game at Hampden, not that long ago, when everyone was lording about the work Mark had done.
“He had come into a difficult situation. He’s come in to work with a certain restriction, he’s trying to come in and provide a base for the club which allows it to hopefully grow after he’d gone in terms of imposing a playing style and in terms of where the club was at. And he’s then looked to build on that.
“They had a great year in the first year, imposed that style, the supporters enjoyed it, they had good success, they beat Celtic which was a big measure for them and so much so that they thought they would win the league this year. It’s never that easy.
"They came in this year and of course it’s been a little bit difficult because of so many signings and what-not. But it’s a tough league. When you are Rangers then people want to do very well against you.
“So I’m disappointed really in how it ended for him because I knew his passion for Rangers and I knew how much he wanted to do well and I don’t think anyone was arguing that before the summer. I also feel for big Davie Weir who I know idolised the club and was a legend at the club. These guys were giving their lives to it."
Rodgers was asked whether the gap between his club and Rangers would put off any potential candidate. “I don’t know. All managers have egos, don’t they,” he said.
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