Rodgers’ St Patricks Day Comments Were Inspiring To Us And A Message To Celtic’s Enemies.

It is impossible to look at Brendan Rodgers’ comments after the game yesterday outside of the current context.

You might be able to follow them, but you wouldn’t fully understand what he was saying or where he was coming from and to fully appreciate them you need to. There is a level of sophistication to them which is way beyond his critics.

In the aftermath of the game, Rodgers was asked about the Ibrox club’s game today against Dundee.

His comments were wonderful, far and away the most impressive he has uttered in his time as boss so far. “It’s St Patrick’s Day tomorrow so I’ll be celebrating St Patrick’s Day,” he said. And as if the point wasn’t clear enough, he went further. “There’ll be a celebration of the Irish community worldwide so I won’t have any interest in any results.”

Isn’t that incredible? Isn’t that a brilliant call-out to the debate being had on the margins, the one some of us write about but which the mainstream media wants to completely ignore? The one about anti-Irish racism and the way it continues to blight this country?

I do wish he had gone a little bit further and more openly rubbed their faces in it and made them confront it, but what a reminder of where he’s from, what we endure and a statement of pride in that. Every one of us from that background and community feels that same emotion about today, and every one of us understands why, here in Scotland, it is so special.

That was gratifying to hear Rodgers say that yesterday, and in particular in such a dismissive way of the Ibrox club’s match which we all know is important, but not that important, because come what may this is still in our hands and that was part of the message. A little important, just not enough to distract us from what is, after all, our day.

This is why I love Rodgers, and you know what? Some people will say not to trust a word that comes out of his mouth, not to believe a word that he says, but you know what my answer to that is?

There are people for whom a sentiment like that wouldn’t even come to mind, people who wouldn’t say that line if some spin doctor fed it to them with a guarantee of ten extra approval points in the polls.

So I don’t care whether Rodgers meant it or not, he’s a high-profile Irishman in Scottish football and those words came out of his mouth … and that’s great whatever his motivation was.

And coming at the end of last week, when so many of us wanted issues about Irishness and the way we are treated in Scotland brought to the fore … that was wonderful, that was a message and that hit home.

I was delighted. I am still delighted.

Happy St Patricks Day comrades, friends, ladies and gents. Enjoy every second of it.