THE Clyde Tunnel is just about the last place in Glasgow where anyone would want to be stuck in a traffic jam and especially if you just so happen to be one of the city’s most famous citizens.
But that’s where one afternoon Brendan Rodgers found himself, an accident meaning several hundred cars were stuck underneath the river unable to move, and it didn’t take long for one of his fellow drivers to notice the Celtic manager.
“I saw this guy coming out of his car in a blue top and I thought: ‘Here we go.’ But he said: 'I just wanted to say thank you for coming up to Scottish football. I’m a Rangers supporter but you are a breath of fresh air up here. So I thought: 'Right, get me out of this tunnel quick!' No, it has been great.”
He must be doing something right. It’s a great story and was told with a smile on the face by one contented man. Rodgers has been good for Celtic and Glasgow and they have in return been good for him. This is why there is no reason, bar an out of this world offer coming from another huge club, that Rodgers is looking to move on any time soon.
Not everyone enjoys working for ether Celtic and Rangers in an environment in which life is taken almost as seriously as football itself. Winning helps, of course, so the only problem with his ain folk would be dealing with too much flattery and pats on the back when all he wants is a quiet meal.
But Glasgow has, alas, let itself down on more than one occasion when halfwits take the Old Firm and the more sinister aspect of it all far too seriously.
Neil Lennon certainly has a depressing tale or two to tell, but as most people are actually decent citizens and know how to behave themselves, plus the fact Rodgers has carried himself well, he has been able to live a full life away from the football, which anyone needs to do in the goldfish bowl if they are retain their sanity.
"I’ve honestly never been bothered since I have been up here,” the Celtic manager said yesterday. “I say that hand on heart. I have met Rangers supporters and, in the main, they have been very good.
“I live in a lovely part of the world just outside the city. I can pop into the city, I don’t go in so much of course, but when I do people are great. You could go to a different restaurant every night and enjoy great food, It is a very cosmopolitan city.
“But then you can also get yourself out to Loch Lomond or Gleneagles in very short time.
Read more: Neither Patrick Roberts nor Brendan Rodgers has ruled out the winger being at Celtic next season
“I don’t know what Glasgow was like before but, to me, it seems a really regenerated city. People can’t do enough for you. Genuinely. There are really authentic people. My family who have moved up here love it. Charlotte (his partner) loves it.”
Rodgers was in a talkative mood yesterday at the Celtic Training Centre. To be fair, since he’s come up here his dealings with the Press, particularly the scallywags working in newspapers, has been helpful and revealing, his briefings rarely if ever come off the cuff, and it was interesting to hear him speak about what he does away from the day job. Not that he solely works during daylight hours.
“I have always devoted my life to my career and my work,” said Rodgers. “People who know me understand that’s what drives me. I am a professional and this is my profession. I’m not here to take short cuts and get out onto a golf course.
“I get paid a good salary by the club and I need to earn that. I have a responsibility to the supporters. But you need to come out of the battle at some point. You need to come out of the battle at some point.
“You need to release the pressure valve at times and, as I’ve gained more experience in football, I’ve seen the importance of that. You can be relentless, but it has to be in certain moments.
“When you get the chance to take the pressure out of it for yourself, you have to. It’s all encompassing. Obviously, the football has been great, of course. But I’ve really it and met some great people up here, some real nice friends. It’s been really good.”
For whatever reason, Scottish football this season been the subject of uncalled criticism, actually abuse is a better word, from English-based pundits who when not plotting a war with Spain spend their time putting down our game because the Premier League is dripping with money, which for too many is all that counts these days.
The naysayers have also jumped on Celtic’s dominance, and they are miles ahead of the rest, as further proof the Ladbrokes Premiership is not worth a thing.
“It’s only because people don’t know Scottish football and what they see is a dominant team,” said Rodgers when asked about this lack of respect. “Clearly there is not the investment up here, or anywhere near what there is down south. Sometimes people judge things on money. That is the value of a lot of things these days.
“But everyone knows the size of Celtic and I think what we have to do is be ambassadors. We have an obligation to represent Scottish football. I have always felt that from when I came in. First and foremost, you are an ambassador, a custodian, for what is here at Celtic. But then it is can we represent Scottish football as well?
“I think the way in which have done things is a representation of the work we have been doing and might change the notions of what people might think.”
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