Jota to Celtic sends Brendan Rodgers into raptures as boss finally sees his ambition realised
Emotional Celtic fans logged onto flight trackers to watch one Parkhead hero depart Paradise on Thursday. But it’s the impending arrival in Glasgow of a past Hoops wing commander that has got Brendan Rodgers’ engines whirring.
The prospect of Jota jetting in from Rennes and passing Kyogo heading in the opposite direction is as soft as landing as the Hoops boss could have hoped for in a whirlwind 48 hours since clinching Champions League progression.
Rodgers wasn’t hiding from the fact he too was sad to see his Japanese talisman bring an end to a high flying three-and-a-half years with Celtic. But he couldn’t hide his excitement at finally getting a chance to work with the Portuguese ace whose £25m Celtic Park exit in the summer of 2023 arrived just before Rodgers’ return was confirmed.
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Jota’s deal should be confirmed in the next 24 hours along with that of Kyogo. And while many say you should never go back in football, Rodgers knows better than anyone that’s not always the case. Asked if he expects Jota to have the same impact as he did in two years at Parkhead, Rodgers said: “Yes, I'm very confident.
“He was one player that when I was coming back, I was really looking forward to working with. I’d seen him play for Celtic, of course, and seen the impact that he made in terms of creating goals, scoring goals. That connects him with the supporters. I was really looking forward to working with him.
“The virtually before I'd arrived, it was very clear that he was gone. That was disappointing. I'd spoken to him at length. The challenge always is, and I know through first-hand experience, is that when you've created a legacy, lots of people will tell you not to come back. Maybe for that to be tainted in any way.
“My feeling and advice to him was, come back and grow that legacy to be even greater. If you're not happy in your work where you are or how it's gone for you, you know that this is a place where you will improve, you will develop.
“He's at a different moment in his life now as well, even though he's been away only a few years. I think that he'll come back with a real motivation. He's got undoubted quality, still got things he can prove to develop. He's still young and when he comes through, I'll be really excited to work with him. “
Should the deal be finalised then Jota will be available for Celtic’s Champions League play-off double header next month. And he is exactly the type of addition Rodgers insists can help take the Hoops to the next level.
The Northern Irishman will celebrate his 52nd birthday tomorrow happy in the knowledge that the gift he vowed to deliver with Dermot Desmond has been delivered. Namely, to go beyond the group phase of the Champions League for the first time in 12 years.
But he’s not content with just that. He said: “When I came back, that was one of the agreements and discussion points with the hierarchy at the club and Dermot in particular, because I felt that I didn't just want to back in.
“How can we improve as a club? Domestically, the club has had great success. The one thing from my first time here was to do better in Europe.
“For that, you need to have a level of player and a quality that allows you to be competitive at that level. That was something we spoke about. That's something we’ve been able to do over the period I've been here. It's not just about getting in players and players you can sell on and make money for, but players that can improve you for now as well.
“That journey started last season with the team. I thought we had some really good performances. We improved the squad, players have become better naturally. We've added to the squad and we've seen that level.
“What was also important for this group was how they recovered from a setback. Dortmund was a challenging night for us, but you see that from that moment we've only conceded three goals. That's been away to even a club like Atalanta, who were so good going forward. In that period from then until now, we showed that response and it's been very, very pleasing.
“We want to go and finish off this group stage in the best possible way we can. For our future, it's about growing and developing. That is then about improving players that you have and bringing in a higher quality of players.”
It’s not just his players who have improved over a period of time though. Rodgers reckons the journey has matured him as a coach too. He said: “When I was a young coach I was trying to create this philosophy, this model for myself because I wasn't a big player.
“I didn't have that sort of protection behind me as such that people understood what I was. I was new to it all and had to earn my respect as such over that period. I think then once you have that greater longevity and you experience more, you just understand it more.
“You understand yourself more and you regulate the pressure more. I think that's the big thing. Now I'm 52 on Sunday and I still feel young as a manager despite starting early but still always have that curiosity to want to learn.
“But I feel now that I really understand what is really, really important in terms of the game. Back then, 20 years ago, it was maybe the idealist and the purity of football.
“You understand and you grow with that and what it takes to develop winning teams, winning mentality and winning culture. The journey has been amazing.”
