Joy In My Heart

Brendan Rodgers’ delight in becoming the first ever manager in Scottish football history to guide his team to back-to-back trebles is in seeing the pleasure it has given to his fellow Celtic supporters

- Mark Henderson

GROWING up in the village of Carnlough in Ireland, Brendan Rodgers was enchanted by the Celtic fairytale – the great managers, teams and players who have all walked through the gates of Paradise. His incredible achievements as manager over the past two years mean he’s now a prominent part of this magical story.

To follow up the Invincible Treble in his first season at the helm by guiding the Hoops to yet more unprecedented success in the form of a Double Treble was truly remarkable and has forced a complete rewrite of the history books.

It was fitting, therefore, that a Celtic team, for the first time ever, returned to Paradise on an open-top bus following their Scottish Cup triumph to celebrate their back-to-back clean sweeps with around 15,000 jubilant Celtic supporters – unforgettable scenes in an unforgettable season.

For a boyhood fan of the club, sure, this felt special, but what gave Brendan Rodgers the greatest thrill was witnessing the joy on the faces of his fellow Celtic supporters.

“Last year felt like a dream, winning the treble in my first season, and this season was just remarkable really and historical,” he told the Celtic View.

“For me, it’s seeing the happiness of everyone else. People ask what it means to me but I grew up as a Celtic supporter and seeing what it means to people gives me the joy – seeing children, women and men, granddads and grandparents, all smiling and being so happy and being on the streets.

“That gives me the joy as does the happiness of the players, knowing they’ve achieved something and added something more to their profile, and that’s ultimately what I’m here to do.