Monday 23 May 2016
As the news broke on the Friday afternoon that Brendan Rodgers would be the new manager of Celtic Football Club, I felt a mixture of excitement and joy. However, this joy did not last long as I knew that I had to get through the rest of my fourth-year prelims. Next up was History and Biology on the same day, with Mathematics to follow later in the week.
Even though I was on study leave my Mathematics teacher had invited the whole class to come in on the Monday afternoon for some supported study. I knew that I would not be able to stay for the two-hour study session since Brendan Rodgers was being presented to the fans at five thirty. As soon as the bell went at three o’clock, I grabbed my jotters, put my jacket on and headed straight for Celtic Park, meeting up with my pal Gerry on the way.
On the sixty-one bus we chatted about what Brendan was going to bring to the club, hopeful of entertaining football, The Celtic Way. As we arrived at Celtic Park there seemed to be a throng of excitement in the air, with endless amounts of fans pouring into the stadium.
Eventually, the famous Glen Daly tune struck up and the new leader of the men and of the people arrived in his new home.
Tuesday 12 July 2016
Celtic travelled to Gibraltar to kick-off their 2016/17 season by taking on minnows Lincoln Red Imps.
Unfortunately, though it was far from the perfect start for Brendan and the bhoys as they were defeated 1-0. The goal was a total calamity which could have been very easily prevented. Following this, Celtic had some decent chances but couldn’t get a goal.
However, this games importance cannot be underestimated, it let Brendan Rodgers have a detailed look at his squad and see who was in it for the long run.
Wednesday 20 July 2016
Over 50,000 Celtic supporters turned out to see the league flag be unfurled by Bobby Lennox and Rosemary Burns for the fifth successive season in a row.
Patrick Roberts and Callum McGregor made a welcome return to the first team. The Scottish Champions put in a very credible performance and saw the Imps off comfortably with goals coming from Lustig, Griffiths and Roberts. Celtic went on to play some fine football in the second-half and looked to be getting up to match fitness.
Wednesday 27 July
As I rushed around getting my Euros ready for going to Dublin the coming Saturday to see Celtic take on Barcelona in the Champions Cup I managed to catch the early kick-off which saw the Hoops take on Astana.
The bhoys had been hit with an injury crisis at centre-half and taking to the field on that night was Efe Ambrose and Eoghan O’Connell.
The conditions in Kazakhstan did not in anyway help Celtic with boiling temperatures and a dry pitch. It was not great surprise when Celtic found themselves one-nil down after twenty-minutes.
However, Brendan Rodgers changed the tactics after half-time (something Ronny Deila wasn’t too fond of doing) and during the final fifteen minutes of the second-half, Leigh Griffiths bagged an all important away goal for the Hoops which would prove to be crucial in our qualification.
To be continued.
From Declan McConville’s Teenage Kicks, his diary of an Invincible season supporting Celtic. Declan last week celebrated his 18th birthday and is a contributor to The Celtic Star.
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