Rodgers prides himself at spotting young talent and has built his career on it but there are certain things he looks for first.
At Liverpool he gave Raheem Sterling the platform to become a superstar. Before that at Reading, he unearthed Icelandic gem Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Even in his last job at Leicester City, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Luke Thomas wouldn’t have won an FA Cup if it wasn’t for the faith he showed in them. Brendan Rodgers has given youth a chance everywhere he has been. And he’d love to do the same at Celtic. But only if the youngsters are good enough – off the pitch as well as on it.
The Parkhead gaffer is missing several key players through injury right now including Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada. That means the club will probably have to open the cheque book in January as they bid to retain the Premiership title. The potential loss of Hatate and Maeda – as well as strike pair Kyogo Furuhashi and Oh Hyeon-gyu – to the Asian Cup in the new year presents more headaches. And Rodgers WILL look to their Lennoxtown academy for replacements.
But whether any of the kids will be good enough to make the step up is another matter. Even Celtic and Rangers lose their top talent to the Premier League these days before they’ve made a mark in Glasgow.
And the other issue for Rodgers with Celtic’s kids is if they’ve got the mentality to reach the top. In his first spell as manager he gave the likes of Anthony Ralston and Mikey Johnston their debuts. Both are still squad players at Celtic Park.
As he looked ahead to a bit of rejigging in January, the manager insisted that if there’s quality in the youth ranks he’ll find it. He said: “It’s always a challenge at a big club like this to bring young players through and pitch them in, especially at Champions League level.
“But if you track my career, through all my clubs as a manager, I’ve always had young players. It’s always my first look. From my very first job at Watford, I had Jack Cork, Liam Bridcutt and Gavin Hoyte.
“At Reading it was Sigurdsson. Right through to Liverpool as well. So I’ll always look and if there’s talent there I’d be very disappointed if I didn’t see it because of my focus on youth.
“That was my life for 15 years. That’s why I moved into coaching, to help young people. That’s the vision I came into this club with, it’s one of my key principles. There’s talent here but it’s a case of ‘When is it going to be ready?’.
“Some players might be talented but don’t have that mental strength. They might need to go on loan and become a man. I’ve seen sprinklings of talent but then it’s about attitude. Do they have the right attitude or do they feel entitled?
“People ask if there’s anyone ready to play for the first-team. But they have to be ready to train with the first-team.
“If you can’t train with the first-team you can’t play in it. I have to find that out. If you can’t train when there’s no one there, how are you going to play when there’s 60,000?
“That’s what my experience tells me. But if there’s a player here, I’m sure I’ll see him.”
Rodgers takes great pride in the trust he put in the likes of Dewsbury-Hall and Thomas at Leicester as they became first-team regulars. It was the same when he threw Ralston in against PSG for Celtic or Johnston up front in an Old Firm derby at Ibrox.
But he accepts that every young player might take a different path. And he’s excited about what he might discover at Celtic this time around. He said: “We’ve got a few players out on loan to give them exposure.
“Matt Anderson is at Admira Wacker in Austria and doing well. Young Bosun Lawal is at Fleetwood getting games. Ben McPherson is at Queen’s Park which is a good place for him to go. That’s where these boys become men.
“Dewsbury-Hall had never been out on loan until we sent him to Blackpool then Luton. He came back 18 months later and was ready. I stuck him in and he was fantastic for Leicester. It’s just about what the player needs.
“Luke was a young player at 19 who had never played in front of a crowd before. We got him games during Covid but his first match with a crowd was the FA Cup Final.
“By then he had 40-odd games under his belt – and he won the FA Cup. It’s about having a strategy and putting them in at the right time.
“Some of the biggest young talents leave clubs like Celtic when they break into the first-team. Ben Doak is an example.
“That’s a challenge. But as a manager, if you inherently believe in it, you’ll find a way to give players an opportunity. Sometimes at big clubs they need a career away from the club before they come back. It’s about the needs for that player. Is it a loan or exposure to the first-team? Or does he need to change his attitude?
“The likes of Tony and Mikey here are still on the fringes but that’s about performance. When you get an opportunity, does it take you to being a starter or a cover player? Or a sale?
“Mikey is 24 now but he was 18 when I played him. I don’t think there will be any young players here who I’ve missed. That’s not being arrogant. Next week we have a testimonial game at Dundee and I’ll go to watch it. I want to see the young players in it, just to look for something.”
Meantime, Rodgers has a game to win at Celtic Park this afternoon against Aberdeen as he aims to maintain their lead at the top of the Premiership. If they can stay eight points ahead of Rangers – albeit the Ibrox club have a game in hand – he’ll be content going into the international break.
The Hoops boss said: “I’m relaxed but focused. I’m loving my time back here, on and off the pitch. I enjoy working with these players, they’re a brilliant group who are so committed.
“And I’m excited about the future and their improvement. It’s been a busy period. The Aberdeen game will close that off and we’re in a good place.”