Brendan Rodgers has certainly caused something of a storm after he said Celtic were going to have fun in the upcoming Glasgow Derby.
The Celtic boss had just watched his team put in one of the best performances of the season in the 3-0 win over Hearts and was, rightly, confident about his team’s chances against Rangers on Saturday.
The upcoming Glasgow Derby has the potential to swing the destination of the title heavily in Celtic’s way or it could provide a route for Rangers to claim top spot in the league.
And whilst the former looks difficult considering Celtic are at home and Rangers haven’t won a meaningful derby game for over two seasons, this game has the potential to be one of the biggest in recent history.
Speaking about the top-of-the-table clash, Rodgers said [The Scottish Sun], “This stage it’s all about mentality. You can see mentally we are in a really good place.
“Take nothing for granted, keep our composure, we have a lot of work to do in the week, get our plan ready.
“And then next Saturday we can have a bit of fun.”
As soon as Rodgers said it, the Scottish media were all over it. The headlines were written and the pressure gauge was turned up for the weekend’s clash.
Celtic boss’s comments taken out of ‘context’
Former Celtic hero, Peter Grant, was asked his thoughts on what Rodgers had said and whilst he admits he was surprised, Grant believes the comments were blown out of proportion.
Grant said [The Go Radio Football Show], “I know what he’s trying to do, mark it up a little bit. But I can understand.
“I was surprised by Brendan’s comments but when I listened to the context of what he was saying about how hard they’re going to have to work and the preparation and then we’ll have some fun.
“All managers I ever had said that’s the day you should enjoy, should be having fun.
“I think that’s what Brendan was meaning but you’re in Glasgow, you know it’s never taken that way, it’s meaning you’re going to have a fun day against Rangers and I don’t think that’s necessarily what he meant.”
Looking at what Rodgers said, it is clear what he meant. The pressure and build-up to this game will be relentless.
The media focus will be intense. So when Saturday comes the Celtic boss is simply saying it will be good to enjoy the game.
But as always, the media spin has twisted the Celtic boss’ comments and Philippe Clement has let Rodgers ‘get under his skin‘.
If Celtic wins, there will be a six point gap at the top of the table and, depending on the scoreline, an even healthier goal difference.
This would make Rangers’ chances of catching Celtic verge on the impossible. So as Rodgers says, let’s have ‘a bit of fun’.