Brendan Rodgers Leads Celtic to League Cup Final

Box Office Brendan was full on at Hampden last night as Celtic hammered Aberdeen 6-0 to reach the final of the League Cup next month.

If it hadn’t been for Tuesday’s Champions League match at home to RB Leipzig it could have been a much bigger scoreline with the Dons 5-0 down after 59 minutes.

For much of last season it seemed that it was a diluted version of Rodgers that had returned to Celtic.

Hampered by horrendous recruitment and lukewarm backing from the boardroom the Irishman seemed to be on egg-shells with a small core of fans unconvinced by the Brendan that had left abruptly in February 2019 when a Treble was there to be won.

Last winter there were more than a few red flags but somehow from the moment Joe Hart announced his intention to retire at the end of the season things came up trumps.

James Forrest was rediscovered in spring time, since the start of March the hoops have won all but three of their domestic matches, losing out to John Beaton at Tynecastle in March, being on the wrong end of a Moral Victory the following month at Ibrox with a 2-2 home draw with Aberdeen the only blot on this season’s card.

That draw, following an international break, was in the forefront of Rodgers’ plans for Hampden, he had his strongest team available and sent them out with a purpose.

🍀 Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers reacts to a sensational win for his team (and, of course, that second half fall too)
“They don’t make Tom Fords with studs on them?” 😂#PremierSportsCup pic.twitter.com/fDSPJhtqxZ
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) November 2, 2024

The interview with Premier Sports was illuminating, rather than usual gaggle of keyboard warriors Rodgers related to Charlie Mulgrew and Michael Steward as he explained his thinking after joking about his ridiculous booking from Kevin Clancy.

Any opposition fans had even more to be fearful of than the six goal demolition of Aberdeen. Rodgers is focussed and driven, you could conclude that he now feels that he is working with his strongest ever Celtic squad,

The questions were detailed, the answers informative with the countdown quickly underway towards RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.

There is a precedent, Celtic beat St Johnstone 6-0 on a Saturday night then got hammered by Borussia Dortmund. A repeat was expected in Atalanta but after a 0-0 draw in Bergamo the perception of Rodgers, his tactics and team has been transformed. Brendan is a realist, not a dreamer.

At the all-in media conference Rodgers demolished a few favoured myths, as good as the Aberdeen performance was it will require an entirely different approach on Tuesday against RB Leipzig.

Celtic will again face Dortmund level opponents, their A-game will be required with a more cautious approach required, the hoops will have to pick their moments.

After losing 2-1 away to Dortmund yesterday Leipzig are no longer in top place in the Bundesliga, Tuesday is almost the last throw of their Champions League dice.

The Germans can’t approach the match content with a point, after losing to Atletico, Juventus and Liverpool they need to beat Celtic to be in with a chance of progress in the Champions League. A draw would leave them with one point from four matches, in contrast five points from four matches would be an excellent start for Celtic, streets ahead of the last two campaigns which have already been well discussed.

Adapting from Aberdeen to Leipzig will be a fascinating study in how Rodgers approaches each match, it is likely to be the same Starting XI but playing in a more restrained manner.

Sadly another international break is just a week away, a draw on Tuesday and a win away to Kilmarnock will set the hoops up nicely with the winter months holding plenty of promise with Box Office Brendan back in full command.

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