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150 games down, another Betfred Cup secured – and Brendan Rodgers walked down the steps at Hampden Park with the bearing of a man who expected such success to just happen.
It’s testament to the mentality that the Irishman has cultivated at Celtic Park that this cup is just a footnote in what is proving to be a toilet-roll long list of honours.
Aberdeen, so often a force in Scottish football, looked spent against Celtic – as Ryan Christie came back to haunt his two-time former employer.
It’s far too easy to say that this is the sort of victory that Rodgers’ team should just expect now, that Champions League money and the strong commercial arm of the club allows pundits to say without doubt that the league flag is already destined for the east end of Glasgow.
Undoubtedly money gives Celtic’s that advantage, but it’s how Brendan Rodgers’ has changed this Celtic team that is remarkable.
Scott Brown, a man who once said that he thought he was finished at the start of the Rodgers regime, now looks like a rejuvenated force in midfield.
Ryan Christie – a man who many thought couldn’t cut the mustard following his move from Inverness, now has gone from being Charlie Christie’s son, to a man in his own right.
All this is down to Rodger’s management, players don’t just become better overnight – especially ones who thought they were destined for the scrapheap.
Their domestic record speaks for itself , back-to-back trebles and repeated Champions League qualification put’s Rodgers names in an illustrious club of modern-day Celtic greats.
It’s impossible to say what happens behind the closed doors of Celtic Park and Lennoxtown – but whatever Rodgers is doing with this team, it’s working.
He arrived in Glasgow with a point to prove following his acrimonious Liverpool exit, and looks set to one day leave with a medal collection that some people can only dream of.
Europe is undoubtedly the biggest blot on his copybook, the one stage of his career that elevate him to heavenly status alongside Jock Stein and Martin O’Neill.
Still, the present is all that matters – and with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers team making their move up the Premiership ladder, it’s up to Brendan to keep his seemingly unstoppable train on track.
