Rodgers has delivered a strong response and defence of his comments during an interview with BBC Scotland following Celtic’s 3-1 victory at Motherwell on Sunday.
Jane Lewis was asking the questions with an emphasis on Celtic’s first half struggles while the Irishman redirected the discussion to the match overall and how his side had come from behind to win with two goals in stoppage time.
The interview seemed to be going down a cul-de-sac until Rodgers mentioned that his side will write their own story for the season.
That seemed a fairly clear reference to the developing media narrative that Celtic were throwing the title away, with 11 matches left to play the back-to-back champions have slipped to second place.
When Lewis pushed Rodgers to expand on the story already having been written the Celtic boss wasn’t playing ball, quickly it was wound up with a polite ‘good girl’ message. There was no storming off as suggested by some reports on the interview.
Rodgers said:
I think, sadly for me, in society now we are either looking to offend or find something that is offensive, to try to pin onto people
I think you guys know since I’ve been up here, and any journalist or reporter or anyone one in the media, that I have always based my life on relationships.
So I have always offered a warmth and a respect and courteous, and offering time to people. And that will never change, so obviously with what is out there I feel the need to address that.
I deal with people in life, whether that’s the players and wanting to help them become better or people in the media.
I have spoken to Jane and she wasn’t offended, we had a laugh about it, and she’ll continue to ask me awkward questions I’m sure.
But I see her every week and we’ve got good relations like I do with most people in my life, whether that’s professional or social.
The irony is that I just shared with the players not so long ago the story of Jessica Watson, who was a young woman at 16-years of age who travelled around the world solo on a boat and the documentary I watched on that was truly inspiring, True Spirit it was called.
And I shared that with the players because of the inspiration they could take from someone like that and what she’d been through.
So I found (the criticism) saddening more than anything, because, one, I am not that type of person, I could never be that as it’s not how I am built, and two, saddened for society because people are just looking for some way to bring you down if they can and it’s not nice.
BBC Scotland haven’t been on the invite list for Celtic’s pre-match media conferences but their contract with the SPFL provides them with pre and post match access on a one-to-one basis.
With Dundee at Celtic Park tomorrow Rodgers will resume his media duties including discussing the match with the BBC for radio and television broadcasting.
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