{"id":9160,"date":"2016-05-23T10:50:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T09:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=9160"},"modified":"2016-05-23T10:50:53","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T09:50:53","slug":"celtic-diary-monday-may-23-welcome-to-the-brendanbau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=9160","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Monday May 23: Welcome To The Brendanbau"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celtics new manager, Brendan rodgers , will be introduced to the support this evening.<\/p>\n

\"Welcome<\/p>\n

From the official website;<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S the dawn of a new era as Brendan Rodgers is officially unveiled as Celtic manager this afternoon (Monday) at Paradise. And the new Celtic boss will meet supporters at 6pm at the stadium following his media conference.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Irishman becomes the club\u2019s 18th manager in its long and illustrious history, and is one that has excited Celtic fans. And as a lifelong Celtic supporter himself, it\u2019s a dream come true for the 43-year-old.<\/em><\/p>\n

Speaking after his appointment was announced on Friday afternoon, Brendan Rodgers said: “I will give my new role everything I have and do all I can to bring our supporters exciting, entertaining and winning football.<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Club has been in magnificent shape in recent years and has collected silverware regularly during this time. My objective now, of course, is to continue this work, to keep us at the top and again make our mark in Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I know what a magnificent support Celtic enjoys and I can promise our fans one thing – that I will be doing everything I can to give you a team that you can be proud of and a team that delivers.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I can’t wait to be in Paradise with our team and our fans as we all get to work.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Paradise is the place to be today as Brendan Rodgers begins his reign as Celtic manager, and he will meet supporters at 6pm. There will be music on The Celtic Way from 4.30pm on what is sure to be a special day of celebration. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We need a song, and this one, shamelessly stolen from Hibernian fans, and adapted a wee bit by Celtic rock and roars on twitter, is as good as any;<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not that the main domestic challenge will come from Ibrox, nowhere near it in fact, but there does sem to be a little bit of competition as the Level 5 spinmasters attempt to keep their paymasters on the back pages.<\/p>\n

So much so, in fact, that during tonights press conference , whilst paying due respect to the Warburton Wunderteam, Rodgers must lay down the law with journalists who attempt to steer the conversation down Kinning Park way.<\/p>\n

\u00a0All questions regarding the Ibrox club must be banned.<\/p>\n

Any mention of them by a reporter , or any attempt to get Rodgers to comment on the aftermath of the Scottish cup final should see the reporter-and newspaper-concerned removed from the proceedings.<\/p>\n

He’s there to talk about Celtic, his plans for Celtic, and possibly that accusation about a transgender partner, which if nothing else is intriguing.<\/p>\n

Alright, not the transgender thing. It’s silly.<\/p>\n

Captain Scott Brown is looking forward to what he calls a fresh start, and he echos the thoughts of supporters in this, who have picked up on a sense of anticipation not seen since the arrival of Martin O’Neill.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I was in London when I heard and it\u2019s great news. The lads are in a group chat and we speak quite a lot and we are all delighted with Brendan coming in.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cIt will be a fresh start for everyone and everyone will have to prove their worth. It\u2019s definitely exciting.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cThe players he will attract will be huge and everyone seemed to love his coaching at Liverpool and Swansea, so it will be great for us to learn off him, as well.<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cHe has done really well with his previous clubs, almost winning the league at Liverpool, and he has Champions League experience. Hopefully, he comes here and we can continue to win leagues and cups and get into the Champions League.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u201cPeople say we can\u2019t afford the top players now, but we have just gone and got a top manager. He knows about the club which will help as he will understand what coming to a huge club with a big reputation is all about.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u201cI did come across him at Swansea when we played down there in a friendly and they were flying at the time.<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
\u201cThey played attacking, non-stop football which was good to watch and I\u2019m sure the Swansea and Liverpool fans felt that, as well, and here\u2019s hoping our fans will feel like that.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>One of the reasons I came to Celtic was the fact there was a huge manager in charge who had done well down in England in Gordon Strachan. Now we have another huge manager who has done well down south and he will bring that enthusiasm and experience along with his style of play.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cEveryone knows that Celtic is a high-pressure job and all the other things comes with it, but he will know what that\u2019s all about, having worked in a similar situation in Liverpool with that local rivalry with Everton, so that will be important for him.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
On loan striker Anthony Stokes seems a little revitalised by the move. After his cup winning performance against “rangers “, he feels he has staked a claim to be the partner to Leigh Griffiths next season, and although you’d kind of hope celtic were aiming a little higher, he maybe does have a point;<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\u201cI have said since day one that I wanted to go back, I would love to play with Griff. The first season that Leigh and I played together we scored a barrowload. He came in for five or six months and he is someone that I really respect as a footballer.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is one of the best finishers that I have ever played with and I think we have showed already that we can link up well when we are out there together. He scored 40 goals this season \u2013 we could do a fair bit of damage with two of us up there.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think over two or three seasons if I am playing regularly then I will score 20 or above. If you are a striker at Celtic then that is the standard that you should be at and if you are going to play regularly up front for Celtic then you have to score at least 20 goals over the course of the season and I would always fancy myself to do that.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t spoken to the club but to be fair they knew where I was with a few big games on the horizon for me at Hibs but I would hope that over the course of this coming week that I might have some sort of correspondence from them,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n