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SPFL sponsors are first to put the boot into Rodgers

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LADBROKES SPFL

It didn’t take long but the official sponsors of the SPFL- Ladbrokes- are the first to put the boot into Celtic’s decision to appoint Brendan Rodgers as their new manager.

When Rodgers is unveiled at a media conference on Monday there will be interest from south of Annan giving greater exposure to the sponsors of the SPFL.

Bringing an A-list manager to the show can only boost the profile of Scottish football, and associated sponsors, but the decision seems to have gone down badly with the man from Landbrokes.

Under the headline of ‘Derby record and European woes mean Celtic boss is wrong choice’ the SPFL sponsors proceed with a hatchet job on the biggest name and highest paid person to be associated with THEIR product.

Twenty-four months ago Rodgers led his team to second place in ‘the greatest league in the world’, on Monday the cameras will be in the east end of Glasgow as Celtic’s new manager is beamed worldwide.

Some sponsors would be delighted to piggy back onto that sort of publicity but not Ladbrokes.

Speculating on how Celtic might fare in the Champions League qualifiers, where success would see £1m plus driven to member clubs of the SPFL, Ladbrokes News claims: “Looking at how the former Liverpool man performed at Anfield makes it unlikely he will be able to end this trend.

The Reds were eliminated in the group stage in Rodgers’ one Champions League campaign there, while they never made it beyond the round of 32 in the Europa League.

Jurgen Klopp’s journey to the final of Europe’s second-biggest club competition shows the team had the ability to do well, but their former manager’s failings held them back.

Another important task for the incoming Celtic boss is to make sure the side fare well in the Old Firm derby.

Rangers’ victory in the Scottish Cup semi-final, despite being in the Championship, was also a blot of Deila’s tenure and getting revenge when they next meet will be important.

However, Rodgers only beat Everton once while in charge of the Anfield outfit, drawing every other game, including a 1-1 clash that cost him his job.”

In October Derek McInnes refused to be pictured with the September Ladbrokes Manager of the Month award after they had ran a story about McInnes being the next manager to be sacked.

Explaining his decision to snub the award the Aberdeen manager said: “We all know the pressure comes when you don’t get results and that it’s part and parcel of it. But when you are the main sponsors you have a responsibility.

They should be working with clubs and managers to foster relationships rather than working against us. I was baffled by the whole thing, it was bizarre. Surely a sponsorship is about working together to make things better?”

I suspect that Dafabet, Celtic’s new short sponsor, are happier than Ladbrokes over the arrival of a high profile manager to boost their product.

Barclays aren’t expected to produce any literature highlighting the fact that new Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has failed three seasons running at the semi-final stage of the Champions League.

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