IF one attribute could define Brendan Rodgers’ coaching and managerial career, it would surely be the Northern Irishman’s canny ability to nurture raw talent and produce consistent professionals with a platform to raise their level in the game.
From Scott Sinclair at Swansea City to Luis Suarez at Liverpool, and the likes of Leigh Griffiths, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard at Celtic, Rodgers knows a top attacking talent when he sees one and has a proven track record for getting the best out of them.
Now in his second spell as Celtic manager, the loan arrival of Adam Idah from Norwich City seems to have whetted his appetite for development once more.
The big Irish forward has all the ingredients to be a top player not just for Celtic in the cinch Premiership, but in fulfilling the potential that saw him snapped up by the Canaries from his homeland as a young teenager.
But a loan move to Celtic from Carrow Road was ordained by manager David Wagner in the hope of helping the player to take the next step in his career, and the choice of Rodgers as the man to work his magic once more on a 22-year-old who has already racked up 22 caps and three goals for the Republic of Ireland was an obvious one.
An assist on his first outing for the Scottish champions in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie last week was followed up by a double from the penalty spot which secured a narrow 2-1 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road on Wednesday.
While that early promise has no doubt raised expectations among the Parkhead support that another relatively hidden gem has been unearthed, his manager in Glasgow is just focused on ensuring he can get the best out of a player who he recognises has the attributes to be a success at Celtic.
“It’s fair to say I’m excited about working with Adam and trying to take his game to the next level,” Rodgers said ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fifth-round visit to St Mirren.
“I had seen him play live in the Premier League with Norwich and I saw a young player with that real potential.
“Being Irish, obviously that really caught my eye as well. It just hasn’t quite worked out for him yet. But when you see someone with that physicality, speed and technique, it excites you.
“And you saw on Wednesday night how he took those two penalties. It was with authority and composure.
“When I see all of that, it always excites me. He’s got all the tools there. It’s now about trying to help him get the mentality you need to be a top player.
“People will ask me, ‘How far can he go?’ Well, he has the talent to go to the very highest level. But it’s about what he does with it.
“There are players with the same talent as Adam but they’re playing on local pitches on a Sunday afternoon.”
From his early days as a youth coach at Chelsea, Rodgers has always had a penchant for top talents. After working with a certain Scott Sinclair in the Stamford Bridge club’s academy, Rodgers took the promising young winger with him when he took up the reins at Swansea City.
Sinclair scored a hat-trick in the Championship play-off final against Rodgers’ former club Reading to help secure promotion to the Premier League, and after a year in the English top-flight he earned a move to Manchester City.
Rodgers points to his arrival as manager at Liverpool in 2012 where he encountered a rough diamond in the form of Luis Suarez. The 24-year-old had drawn the attention of the top clubs in Europe following a prolific spell at Ajax but had failed to make an immediate impact at Anfield after signing the previous summer. After Rodgers’ arrival, however, it is fair to say that the fiery Uruguayan never looked back in a stellar career that took him to Camp Nou as part of one of the most strident attacking tridents of all time alongside fellow South Americans Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Having the ability to embrace the responsibility that comes with leading the line for a major club is a quality Rodgers believes separates the best players from the rest.
“Any player coming into the club wants to make an impact. Especially here, where every game matters,” he said.
“There’s added pressure [on Idah] being Irish coming here. There’s a spotlight on you. But I saw glimpses even when he came on against Aberdeen, in terms of the level of touch and awareness.
“He’s only going to get better and better, once he develops relationships with other players on the pitch.
“He wants to get in behind teams and hurt people. He’s starting to understand our game idea which is suited perfectly to Adam’s qualities.”
Rodgers added: “Because my teams play an attacking, aggressive game, wingers and strikers should always benefit from the way I work.
“When I went to Liverpool, they said Luis Suarez didn’t score enough goals. And he then finished two seasons with 30-plus goals by narrowing his game. He’s spoken publicly about the work I did with him.
“Coming to Celtic [the first time], I had good strikers in Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths. Whatever position it is, it’s about the talent they’ve got.
“If the player shows me he cares and really wants to do it – I can maximise a lot from them.”
So has Idah shown that desire to work hard?
“Yeah, he’s a clever guy,” Rangers said. “I had a couple of good chats with him before he came in. I needed to find out about his own hunger.
“But I know enough about his background and spoke to enough people about him. At the age he’s at, he still has so much ahead of him.
“Sometimes the pressure of a club like Celtic can bring the best out of you. You see the type he is, he wants that pressure.
“So I’ve got no doubt he can do very well for us.
“He’s only 22 but already has around 25 international appearances. He’s played against some top players and scored [in the] Premier League. So he’s clearly got the talent, it’s just about getting the consistency.
“I spoke to him on Friday morning and told him he’s had a great start, well done. But always remember this is a game where a pat on the back is only about 10 inches from a slap on the arse!
“One clever guy told me once that success has many fathers. When you are succeeding, everyone is there for you. When you fail, you are an orphan.
“If you want to succeed, it’s that humility which keeps you there along with that consistency.
“So well done, you’ve scored two goals in your first start - two big pressure goals with everything involved - but don’t get too carried away.
“It helps if you come into a team with experienced players but it’s important for him that he knows the demands here.
“This is a club where you need to win and as a number nine here, it’s about scoring goals. He knows he will be idolised here if he can do that. That’s his ambition.”
Having already presided over a relinquishing of the Viaplay Cup against Kilmarnock earlier in the season, Rodgers is keen to get back to winning ways in domestic cup competitions this afternoon.
Having won every cup match during his first spell as Celtic manager, the Northern Irishman remains stung by that Rugby Park reverse to Derek McInnes’s side in August and is determined not to come a cropper against fellow countryman Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren in Paisley today.
Asked if not lifting silverware this season after his exploits during his first spell, Rodgers said: “Oh aye. Not just because of what happened before but because of my own mindset now in being here.
“It’s not what the supporters demand and it’s not what the club demands. It’s certainly not what I demand. No, I’m here to win.
“By the time I do leave here, I hope I’ve won a lot.”
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