No one walks Celtic tightrope like Brendan Rodgers and he thrives where others would be eaten alive

Ask anyone who has gone through all their UEFA coaching qualifications and they will tell you it’s a pretty hefty workload.

It takes years to go all the way up to an A Licence and the work tries to prepare coaches and managers for just about every scenario they can face.

On top of all the fundamentals with the balls, bibs and cones, there’s mock interviews, pretend press conferences and all kinds of curve ball sections that are meant to prepare dugout wannabes for whatever this bonkers game can throw at them. But maybe the teachers should be thinking about another section to the programme. A PhD in How To Be A Celtic Manager. Because this gig is clearly not like the rest. It’s not even like the one across the city at old chums Rangers. Philippe Clement will get some nonsense chucked his way in the coming months and he’ll need to deal with some situations that will leave him wondering what the heck he has got himself into. But it’s nothing compared to the tight-rope walking required at Parkhead.

It’s just as well Celtic have Brendan Rodgers in charge. With more than 700 games under his belt at the top level and a previous stint at the club, he needs every bit of that experience again right now. Because he’s once again dealing with stuff that goes way beyond simply preparing his team for a tough game at Hearts today.

Rodgers picked up the Manager of the Month gong this week. His star pupil, Matt O’Riley, got the player award. Celtic are top of the league with a healthy lead and have negotiated a fairly brutal first part of the fixture list that has sent them to Ibrox, Pittodrie, Motherwell and Livingston, with Tynecastle and Easter Road up next, all while dealing with the considerable tests of the Champions League.

Yet he