Brendan Rodgers welcomes Celtic title race with Rangers

Rodgers’ team were five points clear at the top when their talismanic captain lost his footing in the middle of the park at Anfield and allowed Demba Ba to charge through unchallenged to score and put a huge dent in their title ambitions, with Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City going on to lift the trophy on the final day.

Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool side came up short in title race in 2014 (Image: Getty)

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It was a bitter blow for Rodgers, who was relieved of his duties early in the following campaign and who remained out of the game until his boyhood club Celtic came calling the following summer.

During his first spell as Celtic manager, Rodgers probably spent his Sunday nights cleaning butter icing off his shoes, such was the cakewalk he enjoyed in sweeping all the domestic titles on offer before him. Consecutive trebles and the groundwork for a third in a row were secured before the Northern Irishman returned to the Premier League with Leicester City five years ago.

At Leicester, too, he managed to squeeze an FA Cup win and prolonged European run out of a side which had been hollowed out following their own shock Premier League title win in 2016.

But his is a managerial career that has included trudging through the lower leagues in England with Watford and Reading before steering Swansea City through the Championship play-offs to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history. And while he enjoyed unprecedented glories during his first spell with Celtic, Rodgers is no stranger to having to battle it out for success. And he is all too aware of the fine margins which separate success from failure.

“I’ll be fine. For me it’s about 38 games,” Rodgers said as he looks to get back to winning ways against Motherwell at Fir Park this afternoon after last weekend's 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock allowed Rangers to leapfrog the Scottish champions at the top of the Premiership table. “I’ve heard this throughout my career: that I’ve never had this before or that before.

David Watson's header gets past Joe hart to level (Image: SNS)

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“That’s normal, the world we’re in. Can we find a bit of negative news that sells? But it’s not my story. It’s about what you do now and the challenges now.

“We didn’t deserve to win the title at Liverpool. We were in a great position and played some great football, but unless you win the games, you don’t deserve it.

“This is a totally different time, it was 10 years ago. I’m excited by the title race. There’s been a lot thrown at us this season.

“This is a great opportunity for us to step up, step forward and show we’re the team we want to be.

“So I’m only looking forward to Motherwell on Sunday, then the next one and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Despite going undefeated in their previous eight Premiership encounters since a shock 2-0 home defeat to Hearts in December, the six wins and two draws have proved insufficient in keeping their title rivals at bay.

But Rodgers, who won all seven trophies available to him between 2016-19, believes he can still end the current campaign with a successful haul of silverware with the title still well within reach and with a Scottish Cup quarter-final clash against Livingston coming up next month.

“I don’t need to remind myself that we can still win the double, I know that’s the case,” he said. “To do it, you need to step up and meet the challenge. I can see the players are excited by that, as we all are.

“You never take anything for granted in this game. But this title race is going to be brilliant for the league. The challenge will make us better so you take it on board and when it’s still in your own hands, you can be happy.

“We know what we have to do. The key thing is focusing on the next game. People will try and build 12 games into each one you play and look too far ahead. In my experience, that certainly doesn’t help.”

One factor which has hampered Rodgers this season has been injuries to key players, especially in defence where Cameron Carter-Vickers, Greg Taylor and Alistair Johnston have all suffered their share of time on the treatment table.

Cameron Carter-Vickers is returning from injury (Image: SNS)

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But with left-back Taylor returning to the line-up last weekend and North American duo Carter-Vickers and Johnston available to face Motherwell, Rodgers remains upbeat about his side’s prospects.

“I think that’s been the challenge for [Carter-Vickers to remain fit]. He missed a lot of pre-season which is when you build that base.

“We’ve seen it with players before when they have an operation and then don’t have the chance to get that physical base.

“Then you are chasing your season, really. That’s how it’s been with him. His knee hasn’t really settled and that impacts on other parts. But fingers crossed this will be an end to that.

“He will be fine when he gets up to speed. There is still just under a third of the season to go, so he can still be at a really high level for us.”

Another area of concern for the Parkhead support has been the apparent lack of threat provided by their wide players this season. Possibly spoiled by the attacking exploits of former manager Postecoglou, fans have vented their frustration at an apparent lack of creativity in the final third this season, which was particularly apparent against Killie last week when they failed to capitalise on Kyogo Furuhashi’s 31st-minute opener to put the game to bed.

Luis Palma warms up (Image: SNS)

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At various stages Daizen Maeda, Luis Palma, Yang Hyun-jun, Liel Abada, Nicolas Kuhn, Mikey Johnston and Rocco Vata have all been given the chance to provide the attacking spark for the team, with varying degrees of success. Of those still at the club, does Rodgers need to see more from them?

“Yeah, I think it’s unfair just to highlight them,” Rodgers said. “We are very much a team and there are elements all over the pitch where we can be better, not just in that aspect.

“As a collective, our pressing and progression with the ball can be better. Everyone will analyse various elements of the team, the speed and everything else.

“There’s no doubt I’ve always had dynamic, fast wingers who are crucial, who can beat a man, take someone on or get in behind.

“That’s always been a signature of any of my teams. But everything we do is still collective and we have to take collective responsibility when we are not performing well.”