Brendan Rodgers deserves his Celtic case from the prosecution without perplexing claims by the precious – Hugh Keevins

Everything happens for a reason.

And I’ve a lot of time for the old saying that a man always has two reasons for what he does – a good one and the real one. Which brings us directly to Brendan Rodgers’ return to Celtic against the backdrop of undisguised contempt for the idea among the precious and perturbed within the club’s support. Like the one who called me on the radio to maintain that Brendan’s first stint as Celtic manager was “overrated”.

Quite how you find fault with seven trophy wins out of seven, an Invincible season of four draws and no defeats in the league and back-to-back Trebles is a mystery to me, but maybe I’m missing something Even more perplexing was the caller’s assertion that Rangers being in such poor shape when Rodgers arrived in 2016 was a contributory factor regarding his trophy haul.

If I or any other journalist had ever said or written that any Celtic success was questionable on the basis that Rangers were on the road back from administration and liquidation, we would never have heard the end of complaints concerning the anti-Celtic bias of the mainstream media. Do me a favour.

If you want to berate Rodgers for the undue haste with which he left Celtic Park for Leicester City in 2019 then be my guest. But at least carry out the case for the prosecution of the manager with a straight face and a proper regard for the extent of his achievements while he was in Glasgow the first time around.

Like a subsequent caller who presented the case for Rodgers’ defence in a way that put the team first. "If he beats Rangers four times then all will be forgiven in my eyes,” said the man who drove straight to the heart of what’s required from the manager in the coming season. The suggestion is Celtic’s