KIERAN TIERNEY has been speaking about his time at Celtic and what it was like when Brendan Rodgers joined the club.
The former Celtic defender was a young lad who had broken through under Ronny Deila, but his future and first-team status was by no stretch a given.
When Rodgers came through the door, Kiernan recalled a PowerPoint presentation by Rodgers which ran down the Irishman’s accomplishments as well as what his coaches had done in their careers.
Speaking to BT Sport Podcast, the Currie Club and cited by Record Sport, Kieran revealed Arsenal tried to get him during the Invincible season:
“We went into a meeting on the very first day. We had a presentation – ‘This is who I am, this is what I’ve done, this is what I believe and this is how I want to play’. Then he introduced his staff as well with a PowerPoint on what they had done. We thought, ‘This is the ultimate professional, this will change us as a team’. I also think it helped Scottish football massively as well, him coming in.
“I also remember the first conversation I had with him because there were rumours of me actually going to Arsenal that season as well. I think they had placed a bid. But he spoke to me and said, ‘We want you to stay here. We want you to play and get all these games under your belt. Become a senior pro and not just a young player’.”
The season Rodgers came in will go down in history as one of the best. An invincible treble season where we swept every domestic trophy without losing a game. The cherry on top was a last-minute winner to seal the Scottish Cup at Hampden. Kieran was hospitalised early in that final; there was footage of the player famously running back up the Hampden stairs in his kit to get back for the trophy presentation.
Kieran covered lots in his Celtic career during the Celtic pod, including when Rodgers left the building. The Hoops gaffer walked out two-thirds through the season to join Leicester. While it was a massive shock to the fans, it was also a shock to the players.
Kieran recalled: “I just remember the night before, speaking to all my mates and saying, ‘There’s no chance, we’ve not heard anything, it’s just rumours’. Then the next morning I woke up, my mum had the radio on and she told me. It all happened so quickly.”
