Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers lifted his third Scottish Premiership title on Saturday. For him, perhaps it was the most satisfying one so far given the disruptions he and his team faced throughout the campaign.
Rodgers’ return was in no way a fairytale, with several fans opposing it and there not being a real sense of harmony surrounding the club at the beginning of the season.
It took time for Celtic to get going because early in the campaign, despite winning 1-0 at Ibrox, their form wasn’t great.
A goalless draw at home to St. Johnstone was disappointing while a 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock in the league cup drew widescale criticism.
Such negativity carried on, but defeats to Hearts (twice) and Killie again coupled with several home draws didn’t help the Bhoys’ cause.
When it mattered, however, they stepped up and their title-winning know-how shone through.
Rodgers and his team came alive at the business end of the season and just before trophy day, the manager showed the players a vast series of criticism aimed at them dating back to the campaign’s beginning.
He admitted that this was to teach them a valuable life lesson that outside noise should be ignored and that the players should write their own stories: “From the 26th of August, the headlines were negative”, he said (Sky Sports).
“I actually showed the guys today before we came here the story that was created – the narrative – and all the various people and all the various headlines. Some were professional and some were personal.
“But I’ve always said that we write our own story and it’s not only a professional sports lesson, it’s life.
“You’ll get written off, you’ll get criticised but as long as you stick to your own storyline you’ll be okay.”
