Judging by the reaction to Brendan Rodgers’ universally popular appointment at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon – more than 10,000 supporters turned out to greet him in the late evening sunshine – the Irishman did not need to curry further favour as he walked out the Celtic tunnel to an impressive welcome.

Any yet, by bringing the name of the late Tommy Burns to the party Rodgers immediately struck the right kind of note with the Hoops support.

Considered and measured with his responses as he was presented to the media yesterday evening, Rodgers- accompanied by immediate and extended family of his fiance, uncles, cousins, brothers and nieces - was unfazed by a media presence that was substantial, even by Celtic's standards.

And Rodgers revealed that had life turned out differently he could have been cheered into his role at Celtic with Burns looming large behind him. The Irishman told an intersting tale about a masterplan hatched by Burns that involved Rodgers at the helm of the Hoops with the legendary Burns overseeing it all in a direcor of football capacity.

“The last time I saw him, bless, him I came up here,” explained Rodgers. “I was working with the reserves with Chelsea and was talking with Leicester City about maybe getting my first job in management.

“I thought I needed somebody experienced to come in beside me. At the time, Milan Mandaric was the Leicester chairman and he was talking about a director of football. So I said: ‘Listen, if I am going to come in to Leicester I would love to bring a guy in with me, Tommy Burns’.

“My idea was to get Tommy in to Leicester as a Director of Football, because he wasn’t really wanting to manage any more, he was here working within the youth department at the time. I came up to see him and we talked about if I got the job at Leicester he could come in as a Director of Football how one day he could come back to Celtic as a Director of Football and I could come back as a manager.

“That is how ironic it is. At that point, what he was talking about was being a Director of Football at Celtic. I will never forget the game. It was in 2007 and it was a home game against Hearts. I came up, met him in the hotel the night before, we had a great chat, I came to the game and we went back to his house to see his wife Rosemary afterwards.

“It was something he was keen to do from a football perspective. I think his family and Rosemary had been down south for a few years and wanted to be up here. But it was certainly something that made him think. But the only thing that was making him want to do it was the possibility of him coming back to Celtic one day as the Director of Football with me as a manager. It is a poignant day really.

“Just walking around I have just noticed that, he will always be here.”

Rodgers does not arrive at Celtic with a reputation for humility, yet he showed a considered deference to those who have walked before him at the club.

“For me to follow in the footsteps of Jock Stein and Billy McNeill and Davie Hay and Tommy and these guys is an incredible feeling of privilege for me,” he added.

Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s majority shareholder, has often been criticised by the Hoops support for an apparent aloofness, but Rodgers has insisted that both the Irishman and Peter Lawwell, Celtic’s chief executive were instrumental in bringing him to Glasgow.

Rodgers will be the highest paid manager in Celtic’s history with a salary that exceeds £2m per year, but it is not just the financial package that sold him on a move to Scotland.

“I met Dermot in London along with Peter,” said Rodgers. “I could see the hunger and the passion in his eyes. He wasn’t just talking through any old spiel to get me here. He has a real genuine passion and love for the club.

“I was aware of Dermot Desmond, the name and the association with his past. But I came away really impressed by him. Then, following that, he made a couple of really important calls to me.

“We had a real long conversation one night. We were about half an hour on the phone after he won his tournament in Dublin.

“As a manager it was important they wanted me here – and that’s what I got from them. They really wanted me to come and manage Celtic.

“Dermot made it pretty clear that I was the one they wanted here. When you come off the phone you speak to Peter and weigh it all up and that sense the club really want you means a lot to you.

“It’s not then so much about money or anything like that. It was purely that Celtic wanted me here as manager. And after weighing it all up and speaking to family we felt it was going to be a good experience for us. That we would all move up and look forward to it.”

It is expected that Rodgers will continue that close relationship with Desmond, with the majority shareholder expected to be available to the Hoops boss whenever necessary.

“I think that relationship is important. I had that at Liverpool where the owners were fantastic, they were really good for me. It’s important that the communication is open.

“I will work closely with Peter, I will have communication with Dermot and that’s how I see things. It’s very much important we all work together.”