The Boss Keeps The Focus Where It Belongs At Celtic. On Nothing But The Next Game On The List.

Earlier on today, I said that Rodgers appeared in front of the latest Fan Forum meeting where he revealed that Daizen Maeda might be back a lot sooner than we all though. In fact, it was an investors club meeting he addressed when he gave that update, and some others which I will get to later on tonight, along with their implications.

Rodgers has had a busy week, and it just goes to show that what we see from the man on match-day and during training is only a small fraction of what he actually does as manager of this club.

I have given Michael Nicholson a bit of a mixed reception over the time he’s been in the job, and one of the things I’ve given him stick over is his lack of public profile. But when you had a front man like Ange Postecoglou and now have Brendan Rodgers maybe that’s not so hard to understand. Because Rodgers is a great front of the house guy, just as Ange was.

Aside from talking to the investors, he’s also been giving interviews to the club’s own in-house media channels, and I thought his comments there were absolutely spot-on. He’s been talking about the rest of the campaign, where he’s repeated his belief that this is where you start to see the real Celtic, in the home straight, when the pressure is really on.

But he’s also talked about focus. Focus on what matters, and that is not looking too far ahead but on watching the next game. With Rodgers and this team, it is always the next game. Recently, Clement has started talking this way, and the media seems to treat it as if it’s a revolutionary thought. But it’s been Rodgers mantra since his first spell in charge.

He has told the players to “do it for Joe Hart” as the big man prepares to step off the stage. Yet at the same time, he’s also sent a timely warning to our footballers that they are paid handsomely to do a job and that he fully expects them to do so.

“That is the expectation. We are not here on holiday,” he said, before adding, “We are here to win and we are here to win in the best possible fashion that we can. That has always been my mantra. We are not just here to win; we are here to win in the best way possible. I think we sense that and we feel that as a club. Everything is in our hands to achieve what we want to achieve, and that is what we are focussing on.”

That is all we should be focussing on.

You’ll see in there that there’s no mention of those ridiculous comments by Dessers and his manager; the boss has said that Hart should provide the extra motivation for the players; he clearly has no interest in the arrogant rambling of a player who doesn’t seem able to play under pressure but certainly talks a good game.

This is a focussed manager and we are a focussed team.

Tomorrow, he’ll give us the update on the injury situation, where I expect we’ll get told that Maeda is back in training and that will set us up for the games ahead. I don’t about you, but I’m looking forward to this weekend.