On the back of his Tedious Treble the Daily Mail is trying to line up an EPL escape route for Brendan Rodgers.
Quite clearly the Scottish edition of the right-wing publisher is making a determined bid to grab a share of the declining demographic that the Daily Record clings onto as they race towards oblivion.
Rodgers was slaughtered by the Scottish media as a failure when he returned to Celtic in July 2023, since then he has seen off Micky Beale and Phil Clement, another new messiah is expected to be in the dug-out of dignity for the start of next season.
First time around Rodgers won seven out of seven domestic trophies, so far it has been three out of four on his return to the club, most bookies are expecting it to be five out of six by the end of the season with only Alan Muir denying the Irishman another clean sweep.
First up in the latest Mail attack on Celtic, this time from Sports Editor Steven Dunn is a trashing of Ange Postecoglou- his record in Scotland also caused great distress and pain across the media landscape, the Australian didn’t bother with diplomacy when it came to dealing with the media minnions.
Angeball burst some time ago after what felt like an extended English love-in for the inflexible Antipodean. A league season that sees Spurs languishing in 16th position, with 18 defeats from 33 games, appears to have sealed his fate.
Postecoglou — witty when winning, dour in defeat — never really had the players at Spurs to carry out his footballing philosophy successfully. Celtic fans had a bitter taste of that when he led them into the Champions League and refused to adopt a Plan B, leaving them without a win in the 2022-23 group stage.
Season 22/23 did of course see one Scottish club put in a record breaking performance in the Champions League, not that you’ll see that mentioned in the Daily Mail.
Turning to Rodgers, Sports Editor Donn starts to hit the accelerator:
While Rodgers talks about making ‘history’, it was perhaps more pertinent that he referenced his previous departure from Parkhead, for Leicester, in the midst of another Treble-winning season, one which was eventually sealed by his replacement Neil Lennon.
Rodgers insists he remains committed to Celtic and has another year of his contract to run. Who knows, he might even sign an extension this summer, although that wouldn’t necessarily guarantee a lengthy stay.
The Northern Irishman speaks about improvement and building a squad capable of going further in Europe. Yet, while you would not expect him to say anything different, it’s just not terribly plausible.
The truth remains that Celtic are a selling club. They cash in on their talent at regular intervals. The proof is there for all to see and tends to be hailed in every Annual Report and financial statement.
At Ibrox Donn’s team are dreaming of becoming a selling club. That is why the Mail runs stories of £20m and £30m bids coming in for Jack Butland, Jefte, Hamza Igamane, Nico Raskin and anyone else that goes half a dozen games in a Castore shirt without punching the ball into their own net or falling on their face. Or enduring a home losing run to Queens Park, St Mirren, Motherwell, Fenerbahce and Hibs.
Building up his hopes in the Mail, Donn adds:
Rodgers is now 52 years old. He came within a whisker of winning the English Premier League with Liverpool. He surely still harbours bigger ambitions than racking up trophies or even Trebles in Scotland?
He could well be tempted at having another tilt at the title down south or moving to a club with a Champions League pedigree.
Spurs, of course, believe they can tick both those boxes, despite their travails this season. Rodgers might not necessarily agree.
What is undeniable is that the Celtic boss has an appealing CV and will be continually linked to other jobs, if not by McCoist then certainly by others.
Ally McCoist might be making mischief with Spurs link … but speculation about Brendan Rodgers leaving Celtic will only intensify https://t.co/XithkxTnZN
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) April 24, 2025
Taking inspiration from McCoist sums the Mail up, a manager that lost cup ties to Queens of the South, Falkirk, Raith Rovers, Forfar and Alloa while in charge of two clubs from Ibrox. Also, costly defeats to Malmo and Maribor that led to unfortunate consequences.
Getting really desperate the Mail adds:
The speculation over his future will continue during his second spell at Parkhead, however long it lasts, because — like it or not — he has ‘completed’ Scottish football. And if he sees off Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final, another Treble would merely confirm that.
Would he be inspired by a rejuvenated Rangers, if they were to finally get their act together? Would a proper title challenge keep him — and his players — motivated? Perhaps but it seems unlikely.
Are Celtic likely to improve on their performance in this year’s Champions League? Again, perhaps. But, again, unlikely.
So, what does happen next?
What happens next is that probably on Saturday the Mail will cover Celtic becoming champions of Scotland for the 55th time. In a month Celtic are likely to win the Scottish Cup, their sixth treble in nine years.
The announcement of Rodgers as Celtic manager in May 2016 resulted in Mark Warburton presenting Hibs with the Scottish Cup the following day.
A very welcome side effect of Rodgers managing Celtic to unprecedented success is the distress he has caused throughout legacy media outlets.
Clearly Donn and Calum Crow are heading the Scottish Daily Mail in a clearly targeted path. The Mail enjoys full media access to Rodgers and the Celtic players at Lennoxtown and Celtic Park.
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