Desperation stakes for Hugh Keevins as he issues Rodgers exit warning

Three weeks ago Hugh Keevins’ heart was skipping a beat at the likelihood of Celtic losing TEN goals away to Atalanta.

In March the veteran Shock Jock revealed why the Irishman wouldn’t be around at Celtic for the start of the 24/25 season

It is the sort of thoughts that keeps half of the nutters on Radio Clyde going as they call up to slag all things Celtic with Rodgers the root of their unending pain.

In the summer of 2016 Keevins and his big pal Derek Johnstone were all on board the Warburton Express! As they tipped the former city trader to take the SPFL Premiership title to Ibrox despite the appointment of an elite manager across the city

Since July 2016 Rodgers has been destroying dreams, the trebles have piled up at Celtic almost as high as the managerial casualties at Ibrox.

After a penalty assisted New Manager’s Bounce Phil Clement is waiting in Death Row for the final acts of his Ibrox reign, destroyed  by a record of four defeats and just a Moral Victory to hang onto since he replaced the joker that was Micky Beale.

Rodgers has gone about his job with total conviction, a proven success he held strong through a testing period last summer to extend his domination of Scottish football with another season of success looking likely.

He keeps his disdain for the media, for Keevins’ peers and successors largely under wrap as they break embargoes and struggle to keep a lid on their hurt and pain over Celtic’s ongoing success.

Coming to terms that Rodgers has Celtic on the path to greater success Keevins has turned to the Irishman’s three year contract to provide him with a crumb of comfort as the dark days of winter set in with Celtic Park alive with hope and expectation.

This week the man who had hoped for 10 goals from Atalanta offered Record readers:

Courage. Charisma. Confidence. Vibrancy. Rodgers would have been entitled to throw in a congratulatory mention for himself – but modesty forbids and all that. The man who was told he needed to be more pragmatic in Europe after a seven-goal going-over from Borussia Dortmund has had the satisfaction of holding his nerve.

He has proven that rumours of his unsuitability for the elite level of the game were unfounded. Rodgers is the highest-paid manager in Celtic’s history but, whatever he’s getting, it’s arguably not enough going forward. Who, at the end of his current contract next season, could replace Rodgers and offer the same guarantee of domestic domination and European respectability?

Those rumours of his unsuitability came mainly from Keevins and his chums, the same group that think a draw against the fourth best team in Greece is the hallmark of A Proper Football Manager.

No one is more aware of his contract than Rodgers, talks will be on-going with Dermot Desmond as they plot the future of Celtic, the Irishman will outlast Clement and almost certainly his successor, he may also outlast the print edition of the Daily Record as sales race down towards 40,000 per day.

Desmond watched internal issues force Rodgers out first time around, having brought back the former Liverpool and Leicester boss he’ll be keeping closer to the action than an out of touch pensioner feeding off the screwballs that entertain listeners on the airwaves.

More than eight years after steering Moussa Dembele and Scott Brown to the demolition of Warburton there is still plenty for Rodgers to achieve with Scotland’s most successful club, founded in 1888 and still paying HMRC every penny that is owed.

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