Brendan Rodgers was speaking to myself and other members of the assembled media in the aftermath of Celtic’s emphatic 5–0 victory over St Johnstone at Hampden Park, a result that secured their place in next month’s Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen.
The club are potentially two games away from a ninth treble. I think it’ll be six in eight years, which would be quite remarkable. Do your team look as if they’ve really got their eye on it now?
“Yeah, I think it’s been such a long season with so many games. We’ve had one or two performances within that – which is natural – that maybe weren’t quite at our best. But what I’ve seen over nearly two years with this team is that mentality – you’ve got to keep pushing.
It’s the time of the season when the trophies are there. The supporters want it, we want it, but then it comes down to performance. So yes, we’re into another final. That was the big ambition today, and it gives us that opportunity against Aberdeen in a month or so.
Now we go into a little sort of mini-league, and we want to be the best in that. The next game is Dundee United, and we’ll be looking to get the result to keep pushing in the league. So yeah, it’s a really exciting end to the season for us again.”
Brendan, if you win a treble this year, you’ll be the first Celtic manager in history to have won three trebles with the club. Does that motivate you personally in any way?
“Clearly, yeah, it does. [Treble number ]Three-point-one it will be as well (laughs)! Of course, it’s nice when that kind of recognition comes to you as an individual, but for me it’s about what’s best for Celtic – us winning and winning trophies.
“It’s not so much the trophies on a personal level – it’s the hard work that goes into it, the values that are there, and the way we work, play, and coach the players every day. That’s what’s more important to me.
“But of course, for the club, the history, and the supporters, getting the trophy is key. So for us, we’ve got two more to win. We’ll recover and get ready to look to finish off the league.”
How pleased are you to have a player of Callum McGregor’s quality in your team, as this season he’s delivering in big goal-scoring moments as well as with his general all-round performances?
“Yeah, he’s just such a special player. I’ve had him in two spells now and managed him for so many games. He’s a real tactical decision-maker in the game. He sets the tempo for the team. He’s a coach on the pitch for me. He knows the patterns we want and identifies the moments when to step in.
“When you’re playing against man-to-man, there are little patterns that free you up to go forward, and he’s done it so many times for me – especially here at Hampden – where he gets such important goals. The first one creates the second one. He’s just a brilliant captain of this club, and yeah, he was so good today.”
Callum McFadden 