Brendan built a siege mentality & that's why you can't discount Usual Suspects lifting a double

Hoops boss won't take foot off the gas at Hampden

- MICHAEL GANNON

IT'S been a bit like that classic scene at the end of the Usual Suspects, when Kevin Spacey's character shuffles out of the cop shop with that limp before breaking into a perfect stride.

The greatest trick the Devil pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exit.

You get the sense Brendan Rodgers has produced the old gammy leg trick this season with Celtic.

The greatest trick the Hoops boss has pulled this year has been convincing everyone his team were lame before marching to the title.

It's been a master stroke.

He even convinced his team they were underdogs.

Rodgers has gone full siege mentality at Parkhead this term and it worked a treat as their performance levels soared.

Even last weekend, the Irishman said he showed his players a "collage of negativity" from newspapers to get his men to make folk eat their words.

Goodness knows what was on this thing, mind you.

There might have been a collage of realism at times over the year but it wasn't as if Celts were ever written off as total duds.

There undoubtedly were challenges. The injury list and nonsense off the field gave punters a heebie-jeebie inducing feeling of deja vu back to the Covid season when everything that could go wrong, did.