How Brendan Rodgers turned Celtic's 'Hampden hoodoo' on its head

As hard as it may be to believe, given that Brendan Rodgers has visited Hampden nine times as a manager and never lost, there were once whispers about a dark hex afflicting Celtic whenever they visited the national stadium.

A run of semi-final defeats to the likes of Rangers – the match that did for Ronny Deila and, in a roundabout fashion, paved the way for the first Rodgers era - Ross County and Inverness Caledonian Thistle had the dreaded words ‘Hampden Hoodoo’ hanging over the club like the dark cloud that once famously stalked Dundee United.

Enter Rodgers. The Northern Irishman won on his first visit to Hampden, and has never looked back.

From that debut victory over Rangers via Tom Rogic’s last gasp ‘Invincible Treble’ clinching heroics against Aberdeen and everything in-between, Hampden has now become a place the Celtic fans associate with the good times once more, and it is a stadium that Rodgers clearly holds a deep affection for.

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The Celtic manager is bursting to get back on that hallowed ground for Scottish football once again tomorrow afternoon as he leads his men out for their Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

“I'm really looking forward to it, I had to wait a long time to get back to Hampden this time,” Rodgers remarked earlier today, clearly still smarting from his team’s League Cup exit at Kilmarnock in the early knockings of his second spell in charge – his first domestic cup defeat as Celtic boss.

He is intent on preserving his perfect record at Hampden though, as he outlined how he shifted his players’ perspective on how to approach a match at the national stadium back in 2017.

“I just sensed a wee bit of trepidation around it when I first came in,” he said.

“With the players and even staff, from everything that had happened for the team there.

“As long as you can control what you can and go into it with that confidence in your preparation, and not over-think it, just play your game - we know when we can do that - that football can bring success for us.

“That was it really, from that first semi-final, we played really well, and went into the League Cup [final] and were absolutely outstanding.

“So, that gave the players a good feeling and we went back there later in the season and played well, and the final game of that season was a historical game.

“After that season, we started to enjoy it and most importantly, the supporters then went and had that expectation of winning.

“That’s what success should look like. That expectation, going and playing – you look forward to it and see where it takes you.

“I’ve loved all the games there.”

Maybe so, but there are no prizes for guessing which one of those games stands out above them all. And with Celtic facing Aberdeen once more at Hampden, Rodgers wasn’t going to miss a chance to reminisce about an afternoon at the stadium that lives long in the memory of all those who were there to witness it.

The clock ticks into stoppage time in the Scottish Cup Final as Celtic chase a Treble and an unbeaten domestic season. Aberdeen have gone toe-to-toe with the champions, but the Dons at last look punch drunk, and are desperate for the bell.

A thunderstorm hangs over Hampden, the gloom adding even more to the atmospheric backdrop. The ball is picked up by Rogic. You know the rest.

“It’s such a special place Hampden,” Rodgers said.

“You’ll never forget that – the scenes after it.

“It was a really nerve wracking final. We’d obviously not got off to a great start and then we came back into the game. The game ebbed and flowed. In that final half hour, it looked like we were the ones who were going to score.

“We kept pushing and obviously Derek (McInnes)’s team kept fighting and held us out.

“Then Tom’s moment of magic won the game. All the scenes, with Craig (Gordon) on his knees, it was such an incredible feeling.

“I’ve loved the times at Hampden, playing in those games.

“The Scottish Cup is a competition that's very rich in its history and especially for a club like Celtic, having won it 41 times. The memories created in this competition over the years are iconic for the club.

“So, for us to be able to take that step with another opportunity to win it, I'm really looking forward to that.”

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There has been talk for so much of this season around both Rodgers and his team giving off a rather uncharacteristically lifeless air, a narrative he has repeatedly referenced in recent times and refuted strongly. But there is no doubt that in the last couple of weeks there has been an extra spring in his step once more.

That may have come from contemplating going back to Hampden, the recent wobbles of Rangers compared to the upturn from his own team as key players have returned, or his own assertion that these are the times when ‘Celtic come alive’. It may indeed be a combination of all of that.

What is certain though is that Rodgers is fired up, and so will his team be, he has vowed, when they embrace the Hampden occasion tomorrow.

“Our training rehearsals have been great this week,” he said.

“I think everyone's on the same page. We've got players back available. The quality of the training, the speed of the training has been absolutely superb.

“It's this time of the season where a club like ourselves comes alive with the anticipation and the opportunity to win titles.

“That's something I've found here my first time and I feel it here again this time.”