Club football will take another halt as we approach the second international break this season and Celtic fans have every reason to be jovial during the break. They are at the top of the table with 19 points from seven games, yet to face a defeat in the Premiership. The Hoops boast a four-point lead over second-placed Aberdeen and that too with a game in hand. Brendan Rodgers has already become a hero at Parkhead and that is very well-deserved.
So how did Rodgers fare in his early days as a Celtic manager? The Northern Irishman has already managed his new club 17 times this season in all competitions and has been victorious 11 times. The former Swansea manager had plenty to prove at the big stage when he took over Celtic this summer and the 43-year-old has done a great job so far without a shadow of doubt.
Rodgers got his transfers perfect
Brendan Rodgers’ transfer activity, during his charge at Liverpool, always came under scrutiny as the Northern Irishman rarely pulled off a great signing at Anfield. Good deals like Coutinho or Sturridge had always been overshadowed by flop moves like Iago Aspas or Oussama Assaidi. However, the 43-year-old did an excellent job in the transfer market this summer at Parkhead going for sheer quality rather than quantity.
Players like Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele, Kolo Toure have already proved how this Celtic team is much improved than Ronny Deila’s Celtic. It seems like the Bhoys will have another walk in the park for the Premiership title this season and the credit goes to Rodgers.
Rodgers has made some mistakes but made up for it
No matter how good a manager you are, you are bound to mistakes. However, you have to learn from the mistakes you had made and right those wrongs as soon as possible. From his Liverpool days, we mostly saw a stubborn side of Rodgers who never really learnt from his mistakes. However, that has not been the case with him at Celtic. Yes, he did make some mistakes but he did learn from those and did not repeat them.
The biggest piece of mistake Rodgers has made so far at Celtic was to take a defensive approach against mighty Barcelona in their Champions League opener. You cannot simply contain the likes of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar for 90 minutes and neither could Celtic as they were humiliated 7-0 by the La Liga holders. However, Rodgers did not take a similar approach against Manchester City in their second Champions League game and played to their own strengths eventually holding the high-flying Cityzens to a 3-3 draw.
So, the conclusion is Celtic have done an excellent job this season under Brendan Rodgers and early signs suggest that the Northern Irishman will be a big success at Parkhead.
