Celtic have the chance to create history, says Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers has rebutted the allegation - frequently voiced in England - that the Scottish game is uncompetitive and substandard. Given that if Celtic beat Motherwell in Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park Rodgers and his players will achieve an unprecedented double clean sweep of the domestic honours, his claim is likely to prompt the cynical comment: “Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?”

And, of course, the Northern Irishman has an interest in portraying Celtic’s achievements under his management as redemptive, after his tenure at Liverpool was cut short by dismissal in October 2015. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that if consecutive trebles were easy to accumulate, the feat would have been accomplished previously.

In fact, the last occasion upon which it was possible fell a generation ago, when Walter Smith’s Rangers were denied by Craig Brewster’s strike for Dundee United in the 1994 Scottish Cup final. “It’s something you can’t really change,” Rodgers said. “For as long as I can remember there has always been that view from the south that the game is better down there.

“The perception is never the reality. Coaches, managers and people within the game understand the complexities of trying to re-energise things after what we achieved last year. Players who ran 15m to press a ball last year might only want to do 10m this year, but you know you still have to get them going and pressing.”

As for his own motivation, Rodgers cited anxiety about falling short of natural expectations. “I said last year that at least, whenever the time came to leave here, I knew I wasn’t a total disaster,” he said. “That is always the fear. You come into a club you support and you’ve got to be with friends and family for the rest of your life saying you were hopeless.

“It’s a chance to create history in the club and that’s great, but I haven’t really thought about it too much. If we can get our sixth trophy in two seasons it would be absolutely amazing, but the thought is about performing in the game.

“I tend to take the emotion out of it, because if you go down that road it can come back to you when you reach a point in the game where you have to make a decision.”

Rodgers is unlikely to be forced into any dilemmas with regard to his starting selection, which all but picks itself, especially since Odsonne Edouard’s injury removes the possibility that he might have begun the contest instead of Moussa Dembele. Tom Rogic’s decision to sign a five-year extension to his current contract adds to Celtic’s buoyancy, as does the knowledge that the Hoops have been over this course before.

“There is a different feeling this year because of that experience that the players have gained,” Rodgers said. “You can anticipate a bit more how it will all work out but, certainly, when we get up on Saturday morning knowing we are coming in to a really special occasion then, of course, the edge and the adrenalin will start to kick in.

“We had a wonderful experience last year. It was fantastic to win it and to win the treble was a real special occasion.

“I’ve been really pleased with seeing that growth and development in the high-pressure games. The level of their football in those games and how they’ve stayed calm and controlled in them is key. When we first came a couple of years ago, there was a real trepidation around here for all the players, supporters, staff, workers at the club.

“It is a mindset that has changed. It doesn’t guarantee that you are always going to win, but what it does is give you what we all want in life, which is a chance and an opportunity. I sense that even this week.

“It has been great to look back on some of my notes and plans from last year and see what my thoughts were. There is an equal focus, but we did it last year - we won the treble. That always gives you confidence and that level of control going into the game.

“I never say to the players, ‘You’ve got to take this chance because it will be the only chance in your life’ because part of me thinks, ‘Do you not think you can do it again?’

“But there’s no doubt there’s an opportunity to write another chapter in the great history of the club. You think of the great history of Scottish football - in all the various eras and levels of players - and there’s a reason why it’s never been done.”

Celtic (probable) (4-2-3-1)Gordon; Lustig, Boyata, Ajer, Tierney; Ntcham, Brown; Forrest, Rogic, McGregor; Dembele.