STANDING in the wrong airport, the scene of bemusement cut quite a picture.

In one corner of a deserted baggage claim area, just five yards through security, confusion reigned. This wasn’t meant to happen.

Picture the scene. Emilio Izaguirre sat on his own, leafing through his phone. Across the way, the youthful faces of Kieran Tierney and Patrick Roberts looked up to no good as they giggled through the crowd, Scott Brown seemed in a perpetual state of cheeriness despite the unfolding scenario while others sat with headphones so big that from a distance they looked like Princess Leia.

Nearer to the large window just adjacent to Zagreb Airport runway, the assembled press dutifully called back to their respective desks while this befuddled scribe got on to more important matters of trying to ascertain the whereabouts of a stray family-sized Toblerone.

‘Aye, that’s what I said, Zagreb,’ boomed one voice from across the large hall, expletives omitted. ‘And Scott’s lost the Toblerone.’

Then, all of a sudden, the sight of Brendan Rodgers brought a bit of calmness to proceedings. Wearing a club tracksuit with a carry on back slung over his shoulder, the man virtually everyone stranded in this foreign land was still to get to know properly – or at all in some cases – walked slowly through the throng, not a word said. The order which followed him would become a familiar facet of the Celtic set up in the days, weeks and months which followed.

As starts go, it wasn’t the best for Rodgers. It was June, 2016 and the team were jetting off on the now infamous flight on a pre-season training camp to Slovenia that would lay the solid foundations to a campaign which delivered a league title yesterday afternoon. Eventually.

Setting off two hours late from Glasgow Airport, the serenity on board the team flight to Maribor was brought to a shuddering halt when the announcement was made that the town’s airport had closed early and our chartered, Romanian-aircraft was making a diversion to Croatia. Huddled at the back, the assembled press pack were too busy waiting on a never-arriving drinks trolley to be overly concerned with such details. In the end, we had to settle for a platter of cheese toasties in an abandoned airport café instead.

A three-hour bus journey through the Croatian and Slovenian Badlands saw us arrive in picturesque Maribor at 2am. Well, it would have been if it wasn’t 2am. The team were dropped off, sleepy but in an upbeat mood, at their luxury five-star mountain resort equipped with gym, swimming pool and training centre. The rest of us, well, weren’t.

A good night’s kip, a scenic landscape and a recovered bar of chocolate the size of a small toddler and everything was soon right in the world. The Rodgers era at Celtic could at last begin.

The expedition to that lovely part of the world wasn’t the start, of course. By that time, Rodgers had been in place at Parkhead for over a month by this point, his grand unveiling a distant memory for the boyhood Celtic supporter eager to shake this club from the malaise that had ultimately led to his predecessor vacating his seat. The same group of players which earned the club’s fifth title in a row under Ronny Deila were taken with him. In many respects, some of them, in one way or another, have never been seen again.

His first game in charge came soon after in the large town of Celje, around 50 miles from the Croatian border. On a night of new beginnings, 40-odd Celtic fans made the journey to see their team and also catch a glimpse of their new signing. A certain Moussa Dembele sat in the stand watching on. In a 2-2 draw, Nadir Ciftci – remember him? – and Tom Rogic scored for a Scots team that had the likes of Scott Allan and Stefan Johansen as their main men.

Soon after a short trip across the border to Austria for a date with Sturm Graz loomed. On that day, Allan would once again play a key role, claiming an assist by squaring for Ryan Christie to finish. More importantly, the game at the Merkur Arena would offer Rodgers the first chance to see Brown in action as he came on for the closing moments.

"Scott is keen to improve his game and he's been working hard, so it was the right time to throw him in," said Rodgers immediately after the 1-0 win. "Like the others, Scott is way off being fully fit but it was good to get him in the team. He has a real captain's influence and we shall see if he can start the first European game."

Under Austrian skies, a captain was reborn.

In so many respects, the landscape has changed for Rodgers and Celtic. Far from the picturesque mountains of Slovenia and Austria, more dreich surroundings of Dingwall, Kilmarnock and a tepid Tynecastle have witnessed the rebirth of so many players under his stewardship, none more so than Brown.

It was in these early days on tour that set the tone for Celtic. Brown has propelled himself to inspiring captain from a position of uncertainty under Deila. Out of the early hopefuls to embrace the bright new Rodgers era, Allan is at Rotherham on loan, Christie as at Aberdeen on loan, Ciftci is temporarily at Pogon Szczecin while Johansen has long since departed for a permanent switch to Fulham.

Since then, a tricky tie against Lincoln Red Imps was eventually navigated and the Glasgow side have never looked back. Their manager has hauled this team to an unbeaten domestic run, Betfred Cup, Champions League participation and quite possibly a domestic treble.

Rodgers said himself the title was won in those early months of the Premiership season, but the philosophy, mantra and work ethic was borne out here as a new bright era took off.

Via Zagreb.