On Friday afternoon we got to see it in reality for the first time: Brendan Rodgers back in the Celtic manager’s suit and tie. It was quite a surreal moment for us all and something you’d have dismissed as sheer fantasy if anyone had told you it those four-and-a-bit years ago when he departed for Leicester City and the English Premier League.

For sure, the Irishman hurt a lot of Celtic supporters and he addressed that issue at both the mainstream and fan media conferences, but more importantly to me and I’m sure most other reasonable Hoops supporters, what was of far more pertinent interest was what his aims and goals would be for this football club moving forward together into the future.

He directly answered that and said he would not be here if he didn’t think he could make a material difference to the football club and that it was one of the driving forces behind his move back. The man feels he has unfinished business at this footballing institution, particularly in European competition and he asserted that winning a knockout tie in Europe would “be a start”.

Brendan Rodgers. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

That’s music to the ears.

Many are still hurting and many are still on the fence undecided about the authenticity of Brendan Rodgers’ return to the Parkhead club in the long-term. Despite his guarantees of seeing out his contract, some will dismiss the sentiments from the new manager due to his previous history back in February of 2019. That’s fair enough and nobody can judge for having insecurities about his return.

But in the meantime, take it at face value for what it is and get behind the team now. There was no “emotion” as he carefully put it yesterday afternoon and although he has regrets, he admitted he didn’t feel the need to apologise for being ambitious. It wasn’t matched last time regardless of how folk feel that he exited the club. But this time, things are different, markedly different in fact. He says his ambition is for Celtic.

That’ll do for me, Brendan.

Paul Gillespie

HUGE SAVINGS IN THE CELTIC STAR’S SUMMER SALE!

The Celtic Star’s book promotion has been so successful, with hundreds of books at great prices being posted to Celtic fans all over the world, that we’ve decided to continue with the sale until the end of July. We’ve reduced all six books currently available from their usual retail price of £20 and prices are as low as £6 (see below).

All books are high quality hardback, with some signed by the author. And it’s also worth noting that you only pay postage on one book, so it’s free for the second, third and so on. ORDER HERE or click on The Celtic Star image above…this is how it feels to be Celtic!