Brendan Rodgers won’t be leaving anything to chance with every Celtic player AND senior club official in possession of a book and monthly calendar of his expectations.
Modern football management is an entirely different world to that enjoyed by Jock Stein with even the ways of Martin O’Neill starting to look dated as stats and analysis are increasingly important.
Managers still earn their corn in the build-up and during the match but off the pitch Rodgers is leaving nothing to chance.
“What I gave to the players was just a snapshot of what I would expect,” the new Celtic boss told The Scottish Sun. “This is the early part of the season when they are absorbing everything. The document is based on a welcome to the club, a personal letter from myself.
“The players get a monthly calendar so they know exactly what their schedule is. It is not a day-to-day thing. They also got the fundamentals of how we play — defensively and offensively.
“Then they got the rules and regulations of how I work. From relationships with people to if they are late.
“It’s a watered-down version of what I gave the senior directors and the senior staff at the club. That was a full document of my scheme of work. I bring that into every club and then adapt it. It’s a snapshot of how I work. People then understand straight away.
“I would say uniform is unity. If everyone is uniformed and you have a way of working then everyone feels part of it. You then see the magic begin and over time it evolves in front of you. It’s great.
“It takes time but you put it in place at the beginning, you see it develop and it’s beautiful. It’s not the right or wrong way- it’s my way. I wanted to be decisive and clear about how I work. Then if people want to employ me they will understand how I work.
“Over the years I pulled them into a format and then I suppose you create a brand for yourself that people understand and fully recognise.
“It’s something that I have enjoyed doing, I loved the experience of pulling it together but I was fortunate that I had time to do that, from finishing as a young player at 20 to getting my first job at 35 I had the time and chance to do that.
“I invested time in it so I could give it to directors and staff and they can absorb what’s going on in my mind and how I think.”