Simon Jordan is nothing but a mouthy troll. The Celtic boss has shown his “integrity.”

I will not accuse Simon Jordan of lacking integrity, but if he quit every job he ever had whenever he disagreed with his bosses, he would probably never work again. It always makes me laugh to hear stone-cold hypocrites lecture other people on their integrity and what they should do with their lives and careers. Simon Jordan has a different idea of what integrity is than most of us do. He certainly has a different idea of what integrity is than Brendan Rodgers does.

It’s difficult to take Simon Jordan seriously at any time, especially when I half suspect that Simon Jordan doesn’t even take himself that seriously. Simon Jordan knows the business he’s in. Simon Jordan is a professional troll, and most people know it.

That’s what he does for a living—or at least I hope that’s what he does for a living. I find it hard to believe that someone who actually does have a series of achievements to his name can be so profoundly and unselfconsciously stupid.

I wasn’t angry at his comments about Brendan Rodgers the other day, and I suspect that Rodgers, who will certainly have heard them, wouldn’t have been particularly angry either. Amused, I think, is the word he would use.

So, I’m not going to get angry with Jordan. I’m angry with the people who have employed Jordan and who think that this passes for legitimate commentary. Because there’s no intelligence, no common sense, and no credibility to anything that he says.

But as long as they act as if there is, he’ll keep drawing a salary, as any of us would if we were in his shoes and knew that all we had to do to get paid was sound like a tit.

Brendan Rodgers is not the first football manager to express frustration at the length of time it takes for his club to do business in the transfer market. Brendan Rodgers is certainly not the first football manager to want a better standard of player and to say that in front of the media. If Brendan is putting a bit of pressure on, it’s because a bit of pressure needs to be put on.

But what I heard from Brendan at the weekend was not just a plea for the players that he wants but a plea on behalf of the supporters. Let me tell you something; I consider that an act of integrity. I consider that an act of solidarity with the fans.

I don’t see it as playing to the gallery. Brendan has been clear on what he wants and what he thinks his team needs since the day he returned. So, this isn’t some complaint to get in good with some of the support. As Brendan says, he’s had three windows of this now—three windows waiting for the club to match the level of ambition that he has for it.

And I believe, in my bones, that he is waiting for them to show the level of ambition he was guaranteed they had on the day he returned to Celtic Park.

Still, if Jordan wants to talk about Brendan Rodgers and integrity okay.

Let’s try this one. I was at Brendan’s unveiling press conference this time around, and when he sat at that conference, he guaranteed to the fans that he would be at the club for the duration of his three-year deal, unless the club sacked him.

I hope that we show sufficient ambition in the next 48 hours that Brendan extends his stay with us beyond those three years. But in terms of this season and next, I have no concerns whatsoever about Brendan Rodgers’ integrity. He has made that vow. He made that vow not to the media, not to the directors. He made that vow to us, the supporters, to the people who sat in that room that day. And I don’t believe that Brendan Rodgers will break his word.

He may feel frustrated; he may feel slightly put out by what’s going on and what’s gone on this summer. Brendan might even be thermonuclear pissed behind the scenes. I have no idea. But I do know that he has made a promise to the fans, and he will absolutely see it through.

Whether Jordan likes it or not, that is integrity.

There are people who will not trust Rodgers to keep his word, and there are other people who will think that if Rodgers really is pissed off, the best thing he can do is provoke a public showdown with the club. I understand the second point of view more than the first. Which isn’t to say that I agree with the second point of view. Rodgers has said all that he can say without triggering a civil war inside Celtic. And that, none of us needs and none of us wants.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that a manager who prioritised quality and experience at the start of this window might not be terribly impressed that we’re almost at the end of the window and haven’t delivered on either yet.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that when Rodgers came back to the club, he was made certain promises, and certain things were agreed on.

Because we’ve all asked ourselves the question: why did he return? Certainly not to work under this. Certainly not to work with one hand tied behind his back. I think in the first year, he trusted the process. Now he no longer does, and he wants to change it. The next 48 hours will tell us how successful he has been in getting his views across.

But this is not Rodgers playing games.

This is Rodgers talking straight, being straight with supporters.

I would have less respect for Rodgers—all of us would—if he sat there and told us that everything was hunky-dory and everything was fine because no one would believe that. That too takes integrity. Who pays the bills at Celtic Park? Ultimately, it’s the fans, and he has treated us with the respect of being as truthful as he can be within certain diplomatic limits.

I am quite sure, quite certain, that Simon Jordan is well aware of that.

But Simon Jordan is led to believe—because his bosses allow him to believe—that his job is to get his name in the papers, no matter how he does it, no matter what crap has to come out of his mouth. But it discredits him and the station on which he works. It is why I do not listen to it. It is why I will not listen to it. I do not want my intelligence insulted by supposedly intelligent people pretending to be this moronic. He knows very well what our manager is doing.

He knows full well the constraints under which Brendan works. And I’m not just talking about financial constraints in the transfer market. I’m talking about the responsibilities any individual has towards the people who pay his salary, and Rodgers is not going to come out and slam those people all over the media any more than Jordan would do with his bosses at Talksport. And that does not mean that Jordan lacks integrity.

I neither know nor care whether he has integrity.

Credibility is a different matter, and in that regard, he has none.

And as long as his station depends on the sort of mindless yahoos who spout ignorance, as they do on that show, then they don’t have any credibility either—not as an outlet with reasoned opinions and which wants intelligent, reasoned debate. Get on some people who sound reasonable and intelligent first, and then you might just get some.