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00:00:00Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's host has been a familiar face on our TV screens for over
00:00:0730 years. A fellow countryman of Brendan Rogers, he is also, like the Celtic manager, an ambassador
00:00:13of Northern Ireland Hospice, one of the beneficiaries of the manager's autobiography. He is delighted
00:00:19to be here tonight to talk to Brendan about his road to paradise. So Glasgow, please give
00:00:26a big Celtic welcome to your host, Eamonn Holmes.
00:00:33You're very kind. Thank you, Glasgow. If that is the welcome you're giving me, I dread to
00:00:42think what you're going to give the main man when he comes out here. No, I know what you're
00:00:50saying, isn't he much thinner looking in real life? The thing is, I've really got nothing
00:00:57else to do tonight. You're saying, why am I here? My wife dances all the time now. Never
00:01:02see her. I'm at a loose end tonight, so we're up here. I hope you understand this because
00:01:08we've got two Northern Irish men talking here, so I hope you can understand. Brendan Rogers
00:01:14is from Carnloch on the Antrim coast in Northern Ireland, which is a very, very tiny village.
00:01:22It's absolutely amazing to think what he has done and what he has achieved. Think of this,
00:01:27he went on to manage the club that he supported as a boy and as a young man. How incredible
00:01:36is that? Even more incredible, he is one of only three Celtic managers to deliver the
00:01:43treble and the only one. The only one as an invincible, right? Let's get on with it.
00:01:57I know what you're asking, is he here for 10 in a row? Let's find out. Please give it
00:02:02up for the manager of Celtic FC, Mr. Brendan Rogers.
00:02:32Thank you. Thank you very much.
00:02:47And they do love you. They do love you.
00:02:51My mum, bless her, used to love you so much more.
00:02:54Don't blame her.
00:02:55She loved you.
00:02:57God rest her. That's tremendous. You see, when you think about that and when we talk
00:03:02about where you came from, and it's all in the book and it's fascinating reading, what
00:03:07does that feel like? What does that adulation feel like? Because I suppose in football,
00:03:12you're either going to be a success or a failure, aren't you?
00:03:16It's very humbling when you walk out and you're a boy from a council estate in Northern Ireland
00:03:21and you see the trophies, you see the pictures and all of a sudden you're here on stage
00:03:26with someone like yourself and talking about a book that's come out that you've wrote.
00:03:33So, yeah, it's a very humbling experience.
00:03:37Do you know what's very funny? We're going to show where you lived here and you're going
00:03:40to talk us through this in Cairn Lock. This is Cairn Lock. Now, blink and you'll be through
00:03:46it. See that 30 miles? That's it, you're through.
00:03:48Yeah.
00:03:49I know it so well. How would you describe Cairn Lock? Like how many people live in Cairn
00:03:57Lock?
00:03:58Virtually, I mean, you've got about 2,000 people. It's one of the great cities.
00:04:03Croft Avenue, this is where you lived, right?
00:04:06Yeah, leading to Croft, close, yeah. So my dad, bless him, you see the house in the middle,
00:04:10he always tried to be the best. I don't know where I get it from, but he wanted to make
00:04:20sure that he had the best house and bless him, and he had to do everything. He didn't
00:04:25have the money to pay builders and all to come in. He was the one.
00:04:29And you see that wee bit of grass we saw there?
00:04:31Yeah.
00:04:32Did that get good use?
00:04:33Yeah, that was where the Five Sides initially started when I was young and you had to stay
00:04:38out the front so your mum in particular during the day could see you. So yeah, that's where
00:04:44the football took place.
00:04:45You see, you're sitting here talking to me. I'm from a council house exactly the same
00:04:50as that in Belfast. When we played football, did you ever break windows? No, it says no
00:04:58ball games where you are. We had one of those streets, but often because I couldn't play
00:05:04football, the ball went through the window, really.
00:05:06It's a really funny story actually. When I went back a few weeks ago, I went back to
00:05:11Northern Ireland and just close by to my mum and dad's house there, there was an older
00:05:22guy, Danny's name was, and believe it or not, he was a big Rangers supporter. And what he
00:05:26would do is if the ball went over his fence, we never got it back.
00:05:31Stuck a knife in the fence.
00:05:33We never got it back. And funny enough, I seen him after all these years back in the
00:05:39pub that I visited with my family and friends.
00:05:42You remember that. Every time you play a derby game, you remember that. Danny kept your ball.
00:05:48That's it.
00:05:51Brendan, look behind us here and look at those three trophies.
00:06:04Is that dreamland? What does that feel like?
00:06:07Well, it's surreal really. From when I've come in to Celtic, it was obviously a great
00:06:13honour and a privilege for me to come in and manage. But my job was to come in and win.
00:06:17When I first met Peter and Dermot in Dermot's house in London, my job description was pretty
00:06:27clear. You know, look to continue to dominate Scottish football and then could we get the
00:06:32club to the Champions League. And Celtic is synonymous with winning.
00:06:40You're not thinking you've taken them a bit literally. You've taken that instruction a
00:06:45bit seriously. Just give the rest of them a chance.
00:06:51Well, modern football now, you're frightened to lose a couple of games and you're out of
00:06:56work.
00:07:03It's been a remarkable season. And like I say, I watched from the outside before and
00:07:09obviously knew the history of Jock at the club and Martin and Neal. So to join them
00:07:14is very, very humbling in doing that.
00:07:21So Brendan, is there a Rodgers philosophy re-playing football? You said there you're
00:07:28in this game to win. Is winning everything or is there a bigger vision that is the Brendan
00:07:36Rodgers plan?
00:07:38Yeah, I think when I started coaching Eamon, obviously I never went on him but was a big
00:07:45player. And when I started to coach, it was really initially just to make young players
00:07:51better. I always felt that players from the British areas were always told that they weren't
00:07:55technically good enough. And so my aim was always to try and help young players improve
00:08:01technically and tactically, but also to understand that your talent's no good on its own. You
00:08:08have to work.
00:08:09And as I went through the years of development as a coach and trying to work with players
00:08:15and then when I became a manager, I had 15 years really of bringing together what would
00:08:21be known as, I suppose, my identity. From a football perspective, it's very much about
00:08:27attacking and there's no compromise. We have to attack, we have to create opportunities,
00:08:34we have to score goals. But alongside that, and if you take away all the technical jargon,
00:08:40you have to work your socks off and you have to be aggressive in how you play the game.
00:08:45Is there room to have fun?
00:08:47Well, there is. And one of the things that we talk about is we talk about the fundamentals.
00:08:52Especially when you move in to become a professional player, it's working on the fundamentals,
00:08:59working on the basics, reworking the basics. But the first three letters of that is important.
00:09:04You have to have fun. And that's about creating an environment where people want to drive
00:09:11up into Lennox Town and improve.
00:09:13I want to go back to car and lock again, because fun is certainly what you had. We're going
00:09:20to show you a wee film here.
00:09:22Oh no.
00:09:24There was, Brendan talks in the book about this car park that they played football in.
00:09:30And the thing was, this wasn't five a side, 11 a side. How many a side are we talking?
00:09:36It was 20 versus 20.
00:09:39So that sounds like a battle. We're going to see how much fun was involved in that.
00:09:44But actually, we're going to bring you back to car and lock and there's a lot of people
00:09:47that know you and want to say things about you. Some of them you will know and some of
00:09:51them you won't, but they all know you. Let's have a look. Here we go.
00:09:54Brendan Rogers, Brendan Rogers, he has heard of us falling through the night.
00:10:06Brendan Rogers, Brendan Rogers, he can hope to lead the free and white.
00:10:18Brendan was very keen on football. That was a rather big class that Brendan was part of,
00:10:23one of the biggest classes ever we had. And there were a good number of boys in it and
00:10:27all keen on football. So there was minutes a day I had to go out and rescue a ball from
00:10:32the school roof. But they really enjoyed their footballs, did they?
00:10:36I remember him on the playground at lunchtime. Always had a football, always had a football
00:10:40with him. Great inspiration for children to have somebody like Brendan that they can maybe
00:10:45follow in his footsteps, especially the boys or girls who are very interested in football.
00:10:50When Brendan was young there, he would mainly play a lot of football in the car park. That
00:10:55was our football, our soccer field. So he would hone a lot of skills, maybe 50 a side.
00:11:01That's where he honed his skills and he never had the football out of his hand.
00:11:08And the winners, led by Captain Brendan Rogers, Fudgees 5.
00:11:22They all have a connection. We have children in the school who are related to him. We have
00:11:27some of the girls who were in class with him. And everybody has a story to tell about Brendan
00:11:33Rogers. So it's great for the school and for the community to see him doing so well.
00:11:39Brendan, even after he left St John's here, he kept in touch right up until the present
00:11:45day, which they'll keep in touch with me. I really appreciate it. He never forgot his
00:11:50roots. He knew where he came from and he always was very friendly towards me and with me.
00:11:55He's an icon, especially for all the young people, especially the ones that are at school.
00:11:59They see a young lad from a small community can sort of go on and excel in the sport, you know.
00:12:06It's wonderful to have a role model who actually came from the school and that that gives the
00:12:12children the aspiration that they can see that they could go on and have a future career.
00:12:18Brendan is a great role model. If you do work hard, if you believe, you can achieve. And
00:12:24Brendan believed and achieved and I mean he can't get much higher than he is at the minute
00:12:29to be manager of the top club in Scotland, one of the top clubs in England. And it's
00:12:35a great achievement for him. All of his family are very proud of him. The whole village is
00:12:40very proud of him.
00:12:54See, watching that, I'm thinking a lot of people who hit the big time want to forget
00:13:03where they came from. They want to forget their past. They want to move on. They want
00:13:06to mix in different circles. You can take the man out of car and lock, but it seems
00:13:11that you can't take car and lock out of the man. Why? Why is that?
00:13:15I think first, I'm just glad they're all at school.
00:13:20They must have known they were maybe going to be on telly or something. But no, listen,
00:13:26I think that Scottish people, Irish people, you know, one of the greatest gifts that we
00:13:31have I think is humility. And I was always told, you know, you'll meet the people, you
00:13:38know, just ensure on the way up, you look after the people because you'll see them on
00:13:42the way back down again. And that's important.
00:13:50So what was it like when you knew other clubs were looking at you and they were interested
00:13:58in you as a young player? Who was interested in you? Who came knocking inquiring about
00:14:02you?
00:14:03As a young player, I actually never played my first 11-a-side football match until I
00:14:10was like 13, it was. Sorry about them shorts, like Paolo De Canio shorts. So I couldn't
00:14:18get rid of that perm. That was natural curls. So that was my very first game. A friend of
00:14:26mine at St. Patrick's School in Ballymena played in a football team. And at the primary
00:14:31school, we never played. You know, it was only Irish sports that we played. We played
00:14:35Gaelic and Hurling. So my first game was at 13. And from the first few games, the first
00:14:44club I actually went to on trial was Manchester United. So I'd played in a couple of trial
00:14:51games and I was asked to go over to there, which I really enjoyed. Fergie had actually
00:14:58just joined there. I think it was 86 he'd went and he was literally probably only there.
00:15:05I think it was about 87 I went. So yes, I went to there and then I went around a few
00:15:11clubs. I'd been to Reading and at that time it was schoolboy forms. So you didn't have
00:15:15to commit to somewhere, but you could. It was called an S form obviously here in Scotland.
00:15:21But I'd went to Luton. Luton were a fantastic club at the time. But the one club I was always
00:15:27waiting for was Celtic. And it's ironic really because there's a letter that my uncle wrote
00:15:38a way back years ago that's in the actual book. And he sent it to me a number of months
00:15:44back. So it's like 30 years old where he'd sent a letter where he wanted to meet Billy
00:15:50McNeill. And actually Billy wrote back to him. And in the letter he actually mentions
00:15:56about his nephew and to have a look at him. And sadly they obviously looked and deemed
00:16:03I wasn't good enough.
00:16:06But are you a believer in fate?
00:16:09Yeah, I think it was always my destiny to be here. Obviously I wasn't to be as a player.
00:16:15I was going to hopefully have a long career in coaching and management. And somewhere
00:16:20on that cycle, you know, no matter who I would have managed in the world, if I finished my
00:16:25career and retired and hadn't managed Celtic, I wouldn't have managed. So it was important
00:16:30for me.
00:16:37As a young kid, they're very influential about the type of boots that they wear and who sponsors
00:16:43them, who's behind them, whether Ronaldo's playing in the Marini Esta or Messi or whatever
00:16:48it is. You too were influenced by your footwear as a player at that stage. What did you wear?
00:16:56Well, my mum, bless her, she... It's a funny story. I mentioned it in here. I was asked
00:17:05to go on trial. Amen. And I was from this little village in Carnlaw. And I was deemed
00:17:11good enough to go for the international trials for Northern Ireland schoolboys. And I'd been
00:17:17and it got down to the last 60. So I traveled up to Belfast and we were sat in this big
00:17:24room before they would select the teams to go out in trial. My mum had got me these pair
00:17:31of trainers that she said, listen, Brendan, there's air bubbles in the front of them.
00:17:35And these will really be good for your feet and give you a lot of air. So I'd sat in this
00:17:41big room and I was probably one of the few from the country. All the rest were all the
00:17:45city boys. So I was sat in the room. I was looking around and everybody was Puma and
00:17:51Deodora, Puma, Adidas, Nike. I had a pair of sizzlers on. I had a pair of grey sizzlers.
00:18:03And obviously you're a little bit embarrassed. But my mum always said to me, it's what's
00:18:10inside them, not what's outside. That's absolutely right.
00:18:15Reading. Okay. You're 16 and you make that choice. Reading and Reading was, you know,
00:18:22was going to play a big part in your life at various stages. Did you ever suffer from
00:18:27homesickness or anything? What was it like?
00:18:30Yeah, I suffered obviously at the beginning and it's why I think I can help young kids
00:18:36now and any clubs I've ever been at for young players. Yeah, I left it. I left at 16 and
00:18:43I'd never been away really. I was never, we didn't have the money to holiday every year.
00:18:48So the first time I ever needed a passport was when I was an under 16 international for
00:18:54Northern Ireland. You know, when I was travelling to Denmark and they rang up to see if I had
00:19:01a passport, but I didn't have a passport. So I wasn't one that was out and about and
00:19:07holidaying. But I was ready to leave. I was really, I knew that Cornloch and Northern
00:19:12Ireland wasn't going to give me what I wanted to be, which was to be a professional footballer.
00:19:17And at 16, I left to what I thought was the best club. And at the time, the manager was
00:19:22brilliant, Ian Branford, his name was. He went on to manage Southampton and Fulham.
00:19:27Well, Ian was brilliant. He really looked after me as a young player. And that was the
00:19:32notion. I had a chance to go to a couple of clubs, but I went to Reading because I thought
00:19:36I could get a chance there and also because of him.
00:19:39Well, injury then cuts your playing career short, but you progress at Reading to become
00:19:47the academy director there as well. And then Jose Mourinho comes into your life.
00:19:54How did you, what was the addition process there? How did you and Mourinho hook up?
00:20:00It was interesting. It was, I'd been sort of 14 years in total, 10 years as a coach
00:20:06there at Reading. And it was ironic, actually, Steve, Steve Clark, who's just gone in to
00:20:12become the manager at, he's become the manager at Kilmarnock. Well, what had happened, he
00:20:19was being moved up, 2004 it was, he was being moved up to play, to work with Jose.
00:20:28Yeah.
00:20:29So they needed a coach in, but Jose wanted a specific type of coach who would, I suppose,
00:20:35play in a different type of way to what was renowned as the sort of British way. So I
00:20:43was asked to go and meet them and whatnot. And we actually had a trial game where he
00:20:48watched the team play and our team played really well. And then I was invited to come
00:20:55and join them. And it was an incredible experience. And Jose was brilliant, absolutely brilliant
00:20:59for me.
00:21:00And that was the launchpad then for your first managerial job. And that job was at Watford,
00:21:06right? So I know that was a big, I mean, you had an offer to go to Reading, I think, as
00:21:10well, and you chose Watford. Why did you choose Watford? Was that because of Elton John?
00:21:15Did you like his music?
00:21:17Yeah.
00:21:18Did you ever meet Elton John?
00:21:19I did. I actually have a funny story about Elton. So when I first joined Watford, I went
00:21:27there because of the history they have of giving young managers a chance. A year or
00:21:31so before, they'd asked me if I'd be interested in being the assistant manager. And I always
00:21:36felt that by the time I would leave Chelsea, I was ready to be a number one. I'd had a
00:21:40long apprenticeship. So when I was to move on, I would become a number one. But after
00:21:48the first couple of days, the secretary at the time, Jackie Rocky, she had rang me to
00:21:53say, look, listen, Brendan, we've had a call from Elton, Elton John, and he'd like to know
00:22:02could he give you a ring later? And obviously, a boy from a council estate and all of a sudden
00:22:10you get Elton John wants to ring you. So it was agreed that he was going to ring me that
00:22:17evening then at 7 o'clock. So I was driving home and looking at the phone and, Christ,
00:22:23I might get Elton John going to ring me here. And I've got to say, he was absolutely fantastic.
00:22:28He spoke. And then after that, we would at least talk once a week. His knowledge of football
00:22:35was great. And in the period I was there, we got along very well. We got as comfortable
00:22:43because after a while, he started to call me Angel. And towards the end of my time,
00:22:53they started to call me Darling. So he was absolutely brilliant, an incredible guy, an
00:23:01absolute icon. But he loves his football and he loves Watford. He was brilliant for my
00:23:06time there. And then was all that Angel and Darling stuff, was that enough to scare you
00:23:10into going to Swansea? And after that, is that what...
00:23:13Well, after that there, I actually... I left there to go to Reading and I was only there
00:23:20a short period of time. When I joined Watford, the remit was very simple. The remit was keep
00:23:26us up, but we expect to go down. Watford at the time, I think, were in the bottom three
00:23:31and we wanted to keep them in the division. And we kept them in the division. We played
00:23:36great football at Watford. And I was then offered a chance to go back to a club at the
00:23:42time that I thought was maybe going to get the chance to build something. A club that
00:23:46I thought I knew really well at Reading, but it just didn't work out. I failed in that
00:23:50job, but it was a great learning for me. And obviously it prepared me for the next job,
00:23:56which was Swansea.
00:23:58But what you weren't prepared for, and it's one of the reasons why we're here tonight.
00:24:03I was a bit heavier then.
00:24:09They couldn't throw me up.
00:24:13But the thing that you weren't prepared for was to lose your mum.
00:24:18Yeah.
00:24:19And your dad died relatively recently after her. You lost them quite close together. And
00:24:25it's one of the reasons why we're here, why you're supporting these charities and what
00:24:29you do. Now, your mum, Christina, there she is there.
00:24:38Could I ask you, when tragedy like that, your mum died at a very young age, in her 50s,
00:24:45when tragedy like that hits you and affects you, do you want to give up on football? Is
00:24:50football a welcome distraction? How did you deal with it?
00:24:55It's a funny one, Eamon, because I had... So I was sacked from Reading on the December
00:25:01the 16th. And then she died on February the 3rd. And it was the first time in my life,
00:25:10so I had two big voids in my life. I had no football for the first time since I was a
00:25:16child. I'd been sacked from a job. And for the first time in my life, my mum wasn't there.
00:25:22So it's a difficult period. But eventually you come out of it and you find a cause of
00:25:31which to fight for. My mum was a fighter. You know, she was an absolutely amazing woman.
00:25:37And she done lots of work for charity. And it just gave me the motivation. My father
00:25:43was still around at the time as well. And plus, I knew I had two younger kids at the
00:25:51time in Anton and Misha. And I was the driving force for them. So the last thing I needed
00:25:59them was to see their father down and depressed and whatever. So you find a way to motivate
00:26:07yourself and get yourself through it. And then try and use it as a cause to go forward.
00:26:22And thank you each and every one of you who have been here tonight. People who will buy
00:26:26the book and come here tonight. And thank you then for your contributions towards the
00:26:31money we're trying to raise for these various charities. And you say that your mum, she
00:26:36was a very charitable woman. And that is, I mean, I know about you and I know that charity
00:26:43is uppermost in your mind. I mean, it is something that you're very aware of. Is that because
00:26:49of her?
00:26:50Yes, because of her. I think that she was a giver. She would travel the world as a volunteer
00:26:57back home in Northern Ireland. There's a charity called Trochora. And she worked for Trochora
00:27:02for free for years. She would take kids all around the world. She would go and raise money
00:27:08and do everything. I've got absolutely no doubt if she was alive to this day, I'd be
00:27:13losing a lot of my money to charity.
00:27:20But she was absolutely amazing. She had five boys running about the house going mad. And
00:27:27she would always bring us up and have us cleaned. But she was a strong woman. And like I say,
00:27:33she was really devoted. And she had a real care for people.
00:27:37Let's get back to football. And a date that sticks in my mind, you're with a new club
00:27:44now and it's April 27th, 2014. And poor Stephen Gerrard slips. I was gutted. I was gutted.
00:28:00So, I'm not being disrespectful here. I'm not being disrespectful. But he slips, the
00:28:09team slip, the title's within touching distance.
00:28:13You're delighted.
00:28:14I know. It's one of the happiest days of my life.
00:28:19But, obviously, you weren't laughing. And everybody's future was linked. I mean, if
00:28:35he hadn't have slipped, you probably wouldn't be here.
00:28:40I know. There's absolutely no doubt. And no slip and winning the title, I would have
00:28:47been still here because...
00:28:56I think you see in modern football now, you look at the recent managers who have actually
00:29:01won the league and went on and they lose their jobs. So, there's probably every chance I
00:29:06would have been still here.
00:29:10Well, Stevie Boy has heard about tonight. And he's a few words to say to you. Here we
00:29:19go. Here's Stephen Gerrard.
00:29:21Stephen, what was Brendan Rodgers like to work for?
00:29:24Fantastic. I rate him very highly as a coach. I've got a lot of respect for him as a man.
00:29:31So, for me, at my age, it was a breath of fresh air to have a change in management.
00:29:37A manager with a different philosophy, if you like. More of a possession base. Philosophically,
00:29:41you keep the ball and dominate possession every single game. I used to love his training
00:29:46sessions. So, yeah, I really enjoyed our time. Obviously, just slightly disappointed that
00:29:51we couldn't become champions when we were very close. That's the regret I have and I'm
00:29:55sure he's got it himself. But, I've only got good words to say about the coach and the
00:30:01man. So, yeah, I really enjoyed it.
00:30:04And what are your best memories or highlights from your time working under Brendan?
00:30:07Well, I think the team that he put together with Suarez and Sturridge when we used to
00:30:12play with two forwards. And we had that. We had the personnel with Stale and Henderson
00:30:18and myself, who became more of a controller in midfield. We had a lot of energy and a
00:30:22lot of speed in the team. And I just used to really enjoy going onto the pitch and knowing
00:30:27that we could blow teams away and do it in a style that looked great on the eye. So,
00:30:32they were the highlight memories. Just being involved in that team and in the XI, knowing
00:30:38that you could go and blow sides away.
00:30:45The way it all ended at Liverpool, do you think now history will judge you kindly on
00:30:56your record there?
00:30:58I don't know. I think it's over time, isn't it, when people look back. We were so close
00:31:03to what was the Holy Grail at Liverpool. Since the Premier League started, the whole idea
00:31:09was to win the title. And it was something that was eluding the club. And when I arrived
00:31:16in at Liverpool, the team was in eighth position. The idea was that it needed to score more
00:31:21goals, because I think it had something like 49 goals. And then within two years, we played
00:31:30a brand of football that was aggressive, that was attacking. And we ended up with the third
00:31:37highest goal scores in the Premier League history and just went short of winning the
00:31:42title.
00:31:43And the difference was what? Suarez?
00:31:46I think that, of course, if you lose a player of that quality, and then what he brought
00:31:52to the squad, then of course it's a big loss. We finished second in that season. And ideally
00:31:59you want to keep your best players and then build on it in the third season. We had obviously
00:32:04more games. We were into the Champions League. We brought in a lot more players. And it was
00:32:10difficult in that season, of course. But the issue then was the expectancy. We'd created
00:32:17this expectancy that we'd finished second and then the next step was to go on and win
00:32:25the title. So the third season didn't quite go the same. We still played some great football.
00:32:31But we finished in the last day of the season in sixth position.
00:32:36And then the beginning of the fourth season, we started OK. We had a hard run of games.
00:32:41But I think by that stage, the ownership had decided that they wanted to change. And you
00:32:47have to respect the wishes and move on.
00:32:49So what was going through your mind then? Are you out of love with football? I mean,
00:32:56it's not nice for anybody to be let go. What are you thinking? I don't want to do this
00:33:03again. Where were you at at this stage? What was going through your mind?
00:33:08I was absolutely fine. I think the first time you get the sack is what hurts. Like I said
00:33:17at Reading, it was the first time I was out of work. And at that stage of my life, you
00:33:22don't have the money that maybe you can get later on in life. So if I could have, I would
00:33:28have been in work the next day. But it was six or so months later before I went into
00:33:34Swansea. When I'd left Liverpool, I was ready for a break. It was around about the
00:33:41October international break. I had two years at Swansea. I had three and a half years,
00:33:48three and a bit years at Liverpool. And the club that Liverpool is, the focus is on the
00:33:54English Premier League. And in the club that it is worldwide, even in the good days, it's
00:33:59very tough. So when it was finished, Charlotte and I, it was the perfect time to just come
00:34:08away from it and be able to reflect. And I had it in my mind that at that point, that
00:34:13from October, I was then just going to take a rest, take a breather, and then hopefully
00:34:19get ready for the summer.
00:34:22Well, you took a breather. You didn't make the summer. May the next year, and these are
00:34:28the scenes that greeted you here in Glasgow. Look at this. I mean, this unveiling. Life
00:34:39changed here. How long did you have to think about this when you were offered this job?
00:34:46Well, firstly, I had received a call after Ronnie had decided that he was no longer going
00:34:54to continue. Peter had rang. We had a nice conversation on the phone and we'd arranged
00:35:01that, you know, obviously there was a professional job for the club to do, which was to go on
00:35:06and win the title. And then after that there, we would then come together and meet. And
00:35:13we met Peter, Dermot and I. We met in London just to talk over everything.
00:35:18But look at these scenes. This is just you signing. This is you turning up. You've got
00:35:23like 17,000 people here.
00:35:29It's a day I'll never forget. A family I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Ian
00:35:35Jameson, who's the head of media here at the club, who's been brilliant for me since I've
00:35:41been here. Ian told me that, because I'd seen the presentations of managers before
00:35:47having been a Celtic supporter, so I'd seen them out on the steps. But Ian had told me,
00:35:51listen, there's going to be a few more here, so we're going to have to open the stand.
00:35:55So, but from that day, the supporters and the club itself had really given me a commitment.
00:36:05And from that day forward, I had to give them that back.
00:36:17Who do you think in your family, in your family circle, was most excited about you getting
00:36:23that job? It was your cousin Ciarán. And here he is, being excited. Here we go.
00:36:31He was obviously getting tipped to be a Celtic manager, you know, because he was always one
00:36:35of the favourites, because of his record. He was, you know, the previous record he had.
00:36:40People were getting very nervous at that time. And then when he got the job, it was just
00:36:45surreal, like, you know. This little lad, a cousin of ours that we grew up with, now
00:36:50he was going to be walking the same footsteps as Jock Steen and Billy McNeill and Martin
00:36:54O'Neill. It was fantastic. It was emotional. There's no doubt about it. Especially his
00:36:59mother and father not being there to witness it. You're nervous because you want him to
00:37:03do so well. And then he's representing the family, he's representing the community here.
00:37:08It was definitely emotional, you know. Sometimes words are hard to describe how you felt, you
00:37:15know. Especially the family was just ecstatic, you know, that he's come home.
00:37:23Do you have to pinch yourself sometimes?
00:37:26Well, you do, because I think I've said it before, that when I first drove up to Lennoxtown
00:37:33and then I was looking at my kit with my initials on it, I stood and stared at the badge, you
00:37:39know, like I got my kit from Santa Claus when I was younger, you know.
00:37:44And your sizzlers?
00:37:46My sizzlers, aye. So, yeah, it's an incredible privilege, you know, to manage the club. And
00:37:54of course, I can put aside that emotional part of it to know that, and I'll always be
00:38:01grateful for Peter, Dermot, Ian, the board for bringing me into here. So I have a professional
00:38:09duty to them who put faith in me to give them everything back to do the job the best I can.
00:38:14I can understand that. And therefore, from the point of view as a boss, when you're
00:38:19managing a team of players, are you, or can you afford to be their friend, or are you
00:38:27always their boss? How do you rationalise that? How do you get the best out of them?
00:38:32I suppose it's like being a parent, isn't it?
00:38:35Well, it is. I think leadership comes in different ways, coaches do it in a different way. I
00:38:40like to care for the players. I'm interested in them as people. I like to have my communication
00:38:49open, so they can speak to me, not just about football, but if there's anything in life
00:38:53that I can help them with. The values are important to me in terms of being respectful
00:39:01and making sure that we're all together and unified, but we have a dedication towards
00:39:06doing the best that we can be. We work for Celtic, the money's in our bank every month,
00:39:10it's never not there, so that means you have to work.
00:39:14We've had a couple of Champions League years, so it's definitely there.
00:39:36On the subject of money, right? If you had the money and they were ready to go, Messi
00:39:42or Ronaldo?
00:39:49Jackie Jackinowski.
00:39:55Very good. On Monday night at the London Palladium, I saw both Messi and Ronaldo at the FIFA Awards,
00:40:01but the highlight of the FIFA Awards this year was...
00:40:09Isn't that incredible? The fans got that accolade.
00:40:12It is, yeah. Listen, firstly, those two boys, Messi and Ronaldo, for me it's just about
00:40:16preference. I think both boys' numbers are absolutely incredible. It's just what you
00:40:21prefer. Do you prefer Messi? Prefer Ronaldo? Whatever. The most important was the supporters.
00:40:27I think that Celtic is a club that is synonymous with the support throughout the world, and
00:40:33for them to be recognised by FIFA and to see the guys there on stage receiving the
00:40:39award, it was a real honour and they deserve it.
00:40:48I want to draw attention in the audience tonight. I've already met Birdie. Where's Birdie tonight?
00:40:57Legend. Stand up, Birdie. Stand up.
00:41:12Not only that, we've got Danny McGrain here as well. Danny, stand up. Where are you, Danny?
00:41:20There's Danny.
00:41:50One night in Glasgow, I was walking down the street and it was like an apparition appeared
00:42:06before me. This man came up the street and I said to him, are you Birdie Olde? And he
00:42:13said, yes. And we had a great old laugh, hadn't we? I couldn't believe that I met you and
00:42:19bumped into you. But you were more interested in talking to Ruth than you were talking to
00:42:23me, which was it. I've never had the pleasure of meeting the legend that is Danny McGrain,
00:42:31but what was it like when you came to the club and you've got these guys there?
00:42:43These are obviously one of the big reasons why I joined the club, why you support Celtic,
00:42:49the great history of the club. And there's a great story about Danny when I first came
00:42:57to Celtic. I was obviously first joined, came to Lennoxtown and been shown around all the
00:43:02different departments. Fine, started at the club and my PA had said to me, listen, Danny
00:43:12wants to see you. And I'm thinking, wow, I'm going to get Danny McGrain. And I thought,
00:43:21this will be amazing. And I knew Danny was involved because I'd seen him in the background
00:43:26with Lenny and stuff and I knew he was involved with the reserve team and everything. So Danny
00:43:33came in and everyone else was changed in their Celtic gear and Danny was in his ordinary
00:43:42clothes. So I thought, okay. So he sits down and he said, very nice to meet you, boss.
00:43:47And Danny, it's nice to meet you, Danny McGrain. He went, listen, I just want to know if you
00:43:56still want me. And I went, what do you mean? He went, he says, I didn't want to get changed
00:44:04into the kit because I didn't know if you want me. And I went, what do you mean? I said,
00:44:10listen, as long as I'm here, you're here. You're the reason I'm here.
00:44:14So, an incredible man, an incredible servant. And the one thing I will say, or two things
00:44:27specifically, Tosh McKinley also in the audience as well. Tosh is a great servant for Celtic
00:44:34and does a great job for us also in the scouting department now. But the one thing I'll say
00:44:40about all of the guys that I've come across that are Celtic, the biggest attribute they
00:44:45have is their humility. What they were as players is incredible and what they are as
00:44:50man is brilliant. So, fantastic.
00:45:01I want to talk about your relationship with your captain, Scott Brown.
00:45:13And the reason I want to talk about that is, as you'll see here, you seem to make a big deal
00:45:19of him, you communicate through him. And yet, am I wrong in thinking, say in the English
00:45:31Premier League, that the role of the captain seems to be less important to a lot of coaches?
00:45:37A lot of coaches now just seem, you know, I'm there on the touchline, you listen to me.
00:45:42I mean, I take Man United as an example. I mean, we must have had...
00:45:50Remember, we're Celtic, united and...
00:46:00We must have had 10 captains in the last 10 years. So, the role itself, is it diminished?
00:46:08Is there a place for the captain? What's your philosophy about the captain on the field?
00:46:14Well, I think it's critical. And I've been fortunate enough in all my clubs, like with
00:46:18Steven Gerrard, Gary Monk, who's manager at Middlesbrough now, I've always had great captains.
00:46:24And they're absolutely critical and I've always seen it as a very, very important link.
00:46:28You know, that synergy between the captain and the manager is vital.
00:46:32You know, so it's when I first got the job, I invited Brownie down to my house down in
00:46:38London and... Brownie's one of those guys, if you don't know him, he's like a pantomime
00:46:44villain, you know. And he absolutely, he loves it. You know, he's one of...
00:46:52The more abuse he gets, the better he is. But I have to say, what the beauty with Brownie
00:46:57has been, is that, I should get into him almost as a person, he's an absolute wonderful
00:47:03fellow, got the kindest heart, he's Celtic daft. And one of the things I would say in
00:47:13this 17 months now, I always thought he was a very good player. I knew he had certain
00:47:19qualities, athletic qualities. You could see he was tough. But I tell you what, he's a
00:47:24wonderful football player. And he's a wonderful football player.
00:47:34So, our relationship is, and it has to be very strong, and there's one or two other
00:47:40senior players as well that are the pillars of the group. And they're the guys that are
00:47:45in that leadership group, and they really help the team, and they help me as a manager.
00:47:50Very good, very good. Okay, that's all the good stuff. Then the bad stuff. Champions
00:47:58League, you start off your campaign, go to Gibraltar, right? You were never going to
00:48:07lose that, except you did. What happened? I mean, was this like your worst nightmare?
00:48:16What was your philosophy about that?
00:48:18There's no philosophy. It was one where, I remember coming back after the game, and
00:48:24I spoke to one of the staff at the time.
00:48:26And you said, I'm going to resign.
00:48:28No, no. He had booked a holiday in that period. He'd come back, and I could see the shock
00:48:37in his face, because we had a brilliant pre-season, really coming together. And he says, I can't
00:48:43believe you lost that. Gaffer, he says, I booked the holiday when you were playing in
00:48:48Gibraltar. But it was one where it told me a lot of things I needed to know about the
00:48:55team, because as I said, we had a great pre-season, but this was a game that was under pressure.
00:49:01And listen, all the elements was against us, really, in terms of the AstroTurf pitch and
00:49:07everything. I always knew we would get through the tie, but of course, it's not the best
00:49:13start on your CV when you've come in, and you've had everyone turn out to see you, and
00:49:17then you go away, and you lose over in Gibraltar.
00:49:20And I can remember my early walking across the AstroTurf pitch to see the Celtic supporters
00:49:26on the other side, and I knew they weren't happy.
00:49:32Come into the changing room, we get changed, we get on the bus, and as we're coming out
00:49:36of the bus, I knew they weren't happy.
00:49:39Have you forgiven them?
00:49:44I think they're happy now.
00:49:45So it wasn't the best start, but the idea was to win and qualify over the course of
00:49:51that.
00:49:52Which you did. Which you did. Okay, so let's watch that. This was in Israel, and you achieved
00:49:58that well and truly. And let's have a look. You can talk as if you want through the goals
00:50:04and what went on, and some crackers here. Look at that.
00:50:07Well, Brownie always, you know, he'll always tell all the guys that that was the 40 million
00:50:14pound goal.
00:50:17And we had a wonderful attacking display. I think what we showed that evening also was
00:50:22that we started to drip through that mentality in the team that we were 3-0 up, going great.
00:50:29They pegged us back to 3-2, but we still had that attacking philosophy to go and win the
00:50:36game.
00:50:37And I've got to say, I've never been happier losing a game 2-0 in all my life.
00:50:43It was incredible.
00:50:45And I think I was more happier for the players, for the club, the board, because they'd put
00:50:51a trust in me by bringing me in.
00:50:53And the Champions League is everything.
00:50:56It's an arena that Celtic belong in for the club, the supporters, the history.
00:51:00But you've got to get there, and we got there.
00:51:05So looking ahead to next Tuesday night, I mean, what's your preparation?
00:51:10Like, you've got Kilmarnock tomorrow, then you've got the Germans on Tuesday.
00:51:17Does that scare you, intimidate you?
00:51:19How do you face that?
00:51:22No, listen, we have a job to do tomorrow.
00:51:24We focus on that game to win and keep this sequence going.
00:51:28And then we prepare for the game at home.
00:51:31And playing at Celtic Park always gives us a great opportunity.
00:51:35It's an incredible atmosphere.
00:51:37Again, we plan to go out and be aggressive.
00:51:42And what we're doing is we're trying to create an identity as a team.
00:51:46It not just serves us to do well in the next game,
00:51:49but it's going to be imposed by all our teams
00:51:52over the course of the next few years.
00:51:54And, you know, we go to Munich, we lose 3-0,
00:51:58but they beat better teams than us by more than that.
00:52:02You know, but for us...
00:52:07What's important for us, everyone talked about the other night,
00:52:10and it was interesting, I seen a comment by Willie Miller,
00:52:13who obviously was a very famous Aberdeen captain,
00:52:17and he talked about he'd never seen a Scottish side play like that
00:52:21because he felt it was...
00:52:28So what we try to do in those big games in Europe,
00:52:31there's a link between that and then how we are domestically.
00:52:35And then we're hoping that that confidence,
00:52:37that development as a team and how we play
00:52:40supersede then into the Champions League.
00:52:44And that's the Celtic identity, and it's what we're trying to develop.
00:52:52And, of course, unlike a lot of other teams,
00:52:55you've actually won that trophy.
00:53:00Is that history on your shoulders?
00:53:02Do you feel that, or is that just, you know,
00:53:04you go out there and you wear your badge with pride
00:53:07because you think, see us, we've done that.
00:53:09Yeah, it gives us great inspiration,
00:53:12and obviously knowing the history of the club.
00:53:17I think every game and every day we drive up the Celtic way,
00:53:22and when you see the star on the top of the stadium,
00:53:25that's a symbol of what we're about.
00:53:32The Lisbon Lions team will always be the greatest team
00:53:35that have played for Celtic,
00:53:37and for all of us, for us to aspire to be the best
00:53:40that we can be and to follow in their steps, really.
00:53:43Let's talk about the Glasgow derby.
00:53:55How important are those games against Partick Thistle?
00:54:08Eamon definitely knows his history.
00:54:18Six games against Rangers last season,
00:54:21you won five, you drew one,
00:54:23first won five-one at Celtic Park,
00:54:28and it was a big day for the club,
00:54:30it was a big day for you personally, September the 10th.
00:54:33What was that day like for you?
00:54:38Yeah, obviously the whole build-up,
00:54:42it was the first game I looked for whenever I became manager,
00:54:47and obviously it was at home.
00:54:50It was on a real special day as well,
00:54:53it was the anniversary of my father,
00:54:56who passed away on that day,
00:54:58and Jock Stein, who passed away.
00:55:03So they have that, and there's all sorts of emotions
00:55:06that go through your mind.
00:55:07But I remember driving in the team coach to the stadium
00:55:11and thinking, this is real,
00:55:13you're actually now in a Celtic Rangers game.
00:55:16I'd watched them on telly, I'd seen them,
00:55:18I'd heard all about them,
00:55:20and now I'm actually in pole position in there.
00:55:23And it was the most gorgeous day,
00:55:25the sun was shining, and Celtic, that's when it's at its best,
00:55:28you see the colours, the stadium's packed.
00:55:32And thankfully we played really well,
00:55:35and you couldn't have wished for the result to be any better.
00:55:38Was there any one of those Derby wins
00:55:41which was more pleasurable,
00:55:43or are they all, just as long as Celtic win,
00:55:45are they all pleasurable?
00:55:47Is there anything that sticks out in your mind?
00:55:50I think all the games are special,
00:55:53especially when you win them.
00:55:55But we had a period at the end of the season
00:55:58where we played very, very well
00:56:01in the semi-final at Hampden,
00:56:03and we won 2-0 in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
00:56:06And then, lo and behold,
00:56:08the following week,
00:56:10we're playing our last league game of the season at Ibrox.
00:56:16We'd played very, very well in the 2-0 game,
00:56:19and I was really happy with the performance
00:56:23as well as the result.
00:56:25But we actually then went,
00:56:27seven days later, six days later,
00:56:30to Ibrox, and we actually created history
00:56:32by scoring five goals there
00:56:34and playing even better.
00:56:40And so passionate are you,
00:56:42the Hogmanay game,
00:56:44you even managed to pick up an injury,
00:56:46which we're going to have a look at here.
00:56:48Have a look at this.
00:56:50Yeah.
00:56:56Yeah, that was...
00:56:58That was an incredible...
00:57:01day.
00:57:02Oh!
00:57:04Do you know what?
00:57:06Ha-ha!
00:57:08That...
00:57:10Oh!
00:57:12That's the first time I've seen that, you know.
00:57:14I'm just wondering, can we run that again?
00:57:17Because it's the first time he's seen that.
00:57:20I've got to say,
00:57:22it's a good job I did get cramp,
00:57:24because I had to have been up in the bottom end.
00:57:28So it was only cramp, it wasn't hamstring or anything?
00:57:31No, no, what about my calf?
00:57:33I tore my calf.
00:57:34Oh, did you?
00:57:35Yeah, so I got up, and as here,
00:57:37I'm running right up the touchline.
00:57:39Oh!
00:57:40And then...
00:57:48Obviously, you see Chris and that laughing at me,
00:57:51so for the rest of the game,
00:57:53I had to sit down and give the guys the information,
00:57:56but I'll take that 2-1, 2-1.
00:57:59Very good, very good.
00:58:02I'll tell you what I'll take,
00:58:04that draw against Man City.
00:58:06Have a look at this.
00:58:07So here's the special Champions League night as well.
00:58:10That was impressive.
00:58:12Yeah, no, we really had to introduce ourselves
00:58:16to the Champions League,
00:58:18because the first game, we were very disappointed.
00:58:20We lost away in Barcelona.
00:58:22If you imagine, remember at this time here,
00:58:25Manchester City were absolutely flying.
00:58:27We pepped coming in.
00:58:28Hate to tell you they're still flying.
00:58:30Yeah, yeah, so...
00:58:32But that game there,
00:58:34we really showed that we can compete at that level.
00:58:37And of course, they're a top-class team.
00:58:41But an incredible atmosphere, a great game.
00:58:46Our only disappointment was we should have won the game,
00:58:49but at least we brought ourselves alive in the competition.
00:58:53What are you like?
00:58:55Obviously, it's great when you win.
00:58:57Are you a bad loser? What happens?
00:58:59I mean, just talking personally, when you go home...
00:59:04I'm talking about Liverpool days!
00:59:11Do you kick the captain or whatever?
00:59:13I mean, it's that long since you have lost.
00:59:15I mean, I suppose you forget, but...
00:59:18I think that...
00:59:20Of course, domestically, we've been on a brilliant run.
00:59:22Champions League, we've lost some games.
00:59:25I just think that, of course, there's that natural disappointment,
00:59:28because when you're not used to it,
00:59:30then, of course, it hits you.
00:59:32But I've always been the type of coach
00:59:34that I never get too carried away when we win,
00:59:36never too disappointed when we lose.
00:59:38And obviously, whether you win or lose,
00:59:40there's always a learning to take place.
00:59:42It was like the game the other night.
00:59:44We played fantastic.
00:59:46We were in this morning, reflecting on it.
00:59:48How can we be better?
00:59:50And then use that as a lever to move on.
00:59:52So does that mean you can never really enjoy it
00:59:54or afford to enjoy it?
00:59:58You can enjoy it, but it's always short-lived.
01:00:01It's always short-lived because you're creating this ambience
01:00:04in your team and with your staff
01:00:06that probably enjoy it more.
01:00:08But as the leader, you're always looking for tomorrow.
01:00:11You're always looking to be better and planning ahead.
01:00:14It was no different to winning the treble.
01:00:16Yeah.
01:00:18The very next week.
01:00:20My fear then was that we'd won the treble.
01:00:24We have to ensure there's no complacency in the group.
01:00:27So I'm researching and looking into how we can ensure
01:00:31that we stay on this run with this mentality
01:00:34and avoid complacency, which is vital.
01:00:36So your first trophy, was that one?
01:00:39Yes.
01:00:41Scottish League Cup.
01:00:43What did that mean?
01:00:45What did that mean to get your hands on that one?
01:00:47Everything.
01:00:49Since I've become a manager,
01:00:51I haven't had too many chances to pick up trophies.
01:00:54Of course, when I was at Watford,
01:00:56it was about keeping them up in the championship.
01:00:59Swansea was about getting promoted.
01:01:02Reading, I lost my job.
01:01:04Liverpool, we went close.
01:01:06That was probably the nearest I got to winning a trophy.
01:01:09So coming to Celtic to get that
01:01:12and the 100th trophy for the club,
01:01:14it was a real, real special day.
01:01:16And we played exceptionally well.
01:01:18Yeah.
01:01:24And so much so, you go back to the club
01:01:27and you make this speech outside the club after the game.
01:01:31I mean, there you are.
01:01:33There's the enjoyment with all of that.
01:01:35And when you're speaking about it afterwards,
01:01:40what's going through your mind here?
01:01:44Well, it was nice to obviously come back
01:01:46and share that with some of the supporters.
01:01:49There's probably a sudden bit of emotion hit me as well.
01:01:53I got to the realisation that
01:01:55people that you would want to be there weren't there.
01:02:00And you'd love nothing more to be able to share that with them.
01:02:03So I tend to try and block it out a lot of the time, to be honest.
01:02:06And then every now and then,
01:02:08when I'm in public sometimes, it just hits me.
01:02:11But that was a proud moment for all of us concerned.
01:02:15We had something tangible to show for the good start that we had.
01:02:18And of course, it put another trophy in the Cabinet for Celtic.
01:02:27Let me bring you to Tyne Castle then
01:02:29and the league title secured there.
01:02:32A very proud moment.
01:02:35And to have done so without losing a game.
01:02:39Does that make you extra proud?
01:02:42Yeah, it tells you something about the mentality of your team.
01:02:47The discipline, which is important.
01:02:50And the focus that they'd had.
01:02:52That was the 33rd game I think we'd got to.
01:02:58Or even, I don't know, it was 31 maybe.
01:03:00So we'd still a number of games left.
01:03:03But the performance probably typified how we'd been.
01:03:06To go away to Tyne Castle,
01:03:08which notoriously is a very difficult place for Celtic to go,
01:03:11to play as well as we did, to win 5-0.
01:03:15I don't know how many supporters were supposed to be in there,
01:03:18but there was probably double what was in there.
01:03:20I think there was like three people to one seat.
01:03:23So it was a great celebration.
01:03:26Delighted that we'd done the second part of what we wanted to do.
01:03:31I always say to the players, when you have success, celebrate it.
01:03:35It's important.
01:03:36And also, you're having that success,
01:03:38you've got an appetite for that success,
01:03:40so much so you sign another contract,
01:03:42you've got another four years,
01:03:44you're going to be at the club for that.
01:03:46So does that mean...
01:03:49There it is.
01:03:53No hesitations.
01:03:54What about all the talk, Rodgers for the Premier League,
01:03:57Rodgers back to Swansea City,
01:03:58Rodgers maybe back to Liverpool?
01:04:01What about all that sort of talk?
01:04:04Where are you at in your life now,
01:04:07in terms of a manager and contentment?
01:04:10Where are you at? How have you matured?
01:04:15I suppose I was in a rush when I was a young manager.
01:04:18I was working down in England.
01:04:21I wanted to get to the Premier League,
01:04:23the most competitive league in the world.
01:04:26I'd done that through Swansea.
01:04:28And then I went from there to one of the great clubs in the world,
01:04:32in Liverpool.
01:04:34So I'd been in the middle to bottom of the Premier League,
01:04:37and then I'd been at the top end with Liverpool.
01:04:41And then coming to Celtic,
01:04:43I signed a one-year deal,
01:04:45not for any other reason,
01:04:47that's what we both agreed at the time with the club.
01:04:51But then over the course of the last season,
01:04:53and it wasn't just winning the treble,
01:04:55I had a brilliant working relationship with Peter Lowell,
01:05:00who I speak with regularly every other day.
01:05:07And that's important for a manager.
01:05:10I like to work with people.
01:05:13Some clubs' managers tend to work against each other,
01:05:17and I've never been like that.
01:05:19For me, it's all about one club.
01:05:21So Peter, from a professional perspective,
01:05:23has been brilliant for me,
01:05:25and we got on really well on a personal level.
01:05:28The rest of the board,
01:05:30Tom Allison, Ian Bankier, the other guys,
01:05:33the support that I've got here,
01:05:37I really felt it.
01:05:38And Charlotte and I,
01:05:40we loved our life up here last year.
01:05:42So when we talked about it,
01:05:46I always felt, I think,
01:05:47to be the best that you can be as a coach or a manager,
01:05:50you need two things.
01:05:52You need happiness,
01:05:54and you need energy.
01:05:56And in this period of my life,
01:05:59I've never been happier,
01:06:00and I've never had the most energy I've ever had.
01:06:09Which brings me to the third trophy,
01:06:12the Scottish Cup and the last-minute winner.
01:06:15And after that, Charlotte, who you mentioned there,
01:06:17there's Charlotte there.
01:06:18Charlotte, would you like to stand up and take a wee bow here?
01:06:22That's...
01:06:28Charlotte, in the book, you say,
01:06:31Charlotte said,
01:06:33it's like a dream.
01:06:35Yeah.
01:06:36Is that the way it felt?
01:06:38Yeah, well, when we...
01:06:40When I come up the steps at the end
01:06:42to pick up the trophy,
01:06:45my first thought I have to add here...
01:06:51I had to be a little bit more reserved than Brownie,
01:06:54and make it...
01:06:55My first thought there is for a fellow manager
01:06:57who's just lost at the end.
01:07:09Yeah, coming up the steps,
01:07:11I walk towards Charlotte,
01:07:13and she mentioned,
01:07:14this is just all like a dream,
01:07:17and she was absolutely...
01:07:19She was absolutely right.
01:07:26But your suit was ruined in that rain.
01:07:28I got soaked, yeah.
01:07:30It's so poured that particular day.
01:07:33So that means,
01:07:35and the names I'm about to recount,
01:07:38you join Jock Stein twice,
01:07:43and Martin O'Neill as a treble-winning...
01:07:48I went to the same school as Martin O'Neill.
01:07:51Just want to throw that one in there.
01:07:59So you join Jock Stein and Martin O'Neill
01:08:02as a treble-winning Celtic manager.
01:08:06Amazing.
01:08:09I've got to say, save it, Kieran Tierney.
01:08:11Yeah.
01:08:18Every Celtic supporter looks at Kieran.
01:08:20Yeah.
01:08:21Every Celtic supporter looks at Kieran,
01:08:25and you think that's, you know,
01:08:27what he is on the pitch,
01:08:28that's what everyone...
01:08:29This kid is a proper Celtic supporter.
01:08:37I look at him and I think,
01:08:38that's what every young guy would want to do,
01:08:41and he lives the dream,
01:08:42but he lives the dream for all the supporters.
01:08:44He's so passionate about the club.
01:08:45He loves the club, and as I said,
01:08:48you get that extra bit out of him.
01:08:51Well, he's not alone.
01:08:52You're there with that,
01:08:54and I just want to recount a few stats
01:08:57and facts and figures to you.
01:08:59So we go back to 67, Celtic won the treble,
01:09:02then they won the European Cup final.
01:09:06In 1969, treble again,
01:09:09and a year later they were in another European final.
01:09:13And then, Martin O'Neill, 2001,
01:09:16he took, he got the treble,
01:09:19he took Celtic to the UEFA Cup final,
01:09:21two years later.
01:09:24So all these folk want to know here tonight,
01:09:27should they be booking their flights
01:09:29for the Europa League final in May next year?
01:09:36So does that mean we won't qualify
01:09:40for the Champions League?
01:09:46Well, for some finals,
01:09:47should they be going, should, you know,
01:09:49what do they say, the omens augur well?
01:09:53Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't book it yet,
01:09:55but I would just wait and see
01:09:57where we're at after Christmas.
01:09:59But the step for us is to be in Europe after Christmas,
01:10:02and this is a process.
01:10:05That's very, very good.
01:10:08Folks, thank you very much indeed,
01:10:10and it's been my pleasure
01:10:11to host your manager for you tonight.
01:10:14His autobiography is there, it's available,
01:10:17you'll be supporting some very worthwhile charities
01:10:20by buying your copy and doing your bit.
01:10:22But I think you'll agree,
01:10:23this man certainly so far is doing his bit.
01:10:26Let's hear it for Brendan Rodgers.
01:10:28Thank you very much.
01:10:32Thank you very much.
01:10:33Thank you very much.