SPENDING MILLIONS ON A TOP MANAGER IS MONEY WELL SPENT
Brendan Rodgers would have made over £3million a season at Celtic once incentives, bonuses, add-ons and all those other things already rich people get along with an already decent cheque. Not bad work if you can get it.

It’s too much. Not just in a socialist sense but for a manager in Scottish football, albeit at the top club, it’s more than many of his contemporaries will be paid in Italy, Spain, Germany and France - apart from the biggest names of course.

Erik ten Hag, the head coach of Champions League semi-finalists Ajax, will most likely be on less.

Celtic decided they needed a marquee manager when the Ronny Deila experiment was ended. Rodgers stood out. To hire someone like that, even if he was as big a Celtic supporter as he said, the board had no choice but to over-pay him.

A big name with big clubs on his CV demands and gets the biggest wage. That’s football, and it’s what Celtic must do if, and it remains an if, they go with someone other than Neil Lennon.

Sure, 10 in a row is now the goal. Let’s not pretend otherwise. However, progress in Europe, to become better in the Champions League or to finish, as they did this season, at least in the Europa League group stages is surely an ambition.

To do that, they need a top operator and they cost money.

Glasgow Times: Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester CityBrendan Rodgers left for Leicester City

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Rodgers had the name to attract players who ordinarily wouldn’t have through to Scottish football as a possible destination. Celtic is a big name and they pay their players well, but not every young Frenchman or Dutchman fancies fair Caledonia.

A highly-respected manager can make all the difference when it comes to signing the likes of Moussa Dembele, Odssone Edouard and, importantly, keeping the best young players at the club.

Celtic’s dominance is based largely on the boat being pushed out for Rodgers almost three years ago.

Rafa Benitez, for example, would want more than Rodgers was on to join Celtic. But that’s what you need to cough up for a man who has been to four Champions League finals.

THIS IS A GROUP ADDICTED TO WINNING
Celtic are not as good a team as they were two seasons ago. They are about the same as last year.

They are tired. Too many signings haven’t worked which has meant a lack of rest for the go-to guys.

Moussa Dembele was lost at the end of the first transfer window and with him 25 goals and the chance of playing a 3-5-2, which hinted at being an exciting formation.

Leigh Griffiths has been unavailable for most of the season. Tom Rogic and Kieran Tierney have struggled with fitness. Filip Benkovic looked the part and then he too got injured. Daniel Arzani didn't even get to the end of his debut.

Oh, and the manager left.

The other teams had chances. Rangers were level on points if not games at the winter break.

And, yet, this group always found something more when they needed to. Last-minute goals are not lucky. Neither is winning games when you’ve played poorly. That’s down to determination, a refusal to believe you are ever beaten.

This group of footballers are not bored of winning. They never settle for a draw, not when there are 30 seconds left. That can’t be coached or bought.

SCOTT BROWN IS THE PERFECT CAPTAIN FOR THESE TIMES
He was awful for 45 minutes at Pittodrie on Saturday afternoon, but it was still impossible to imagine the team without him. Brown did get a lot better it has to be said.

The 33-year-old has been the club’s most important player over these last eight seasons. Even those who can’t stand him would want this most divisive of footballers leading out their team.

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Celtic at their best are the mirror image of their captain. Ruthless, driven, cynical and winning.

It would have been a huge miss if he had taken the opportunity of a move to Australia. So important is Brown that had he gone, we may not be talking about eight in a row right now.

THE ACADEMY IS WORKING
Callum McGregor and James Forrest were Celtic’s best players this year. Kieran Tierney is already a legend. Ewan Henderson looks a real talent, Mikey Johnston made his breakthrough while Anthony Ralston is still only 20.

When you add in Karamoko Dembele, the most talked-about 16-year-old in European football, that’s a good average when it comes to producing their own players.

It would be nice to see a few more establish themselves next season; however, by all account there is a group a level or two down from the first-team who the coaches believe can produce two or three first-team players.

AND SO IS THE SIGNING POLICY
Celtic have more money than anyone else for a number of reasons, one of them being their ability to scout bargains and sell them on for a fortune.

If you go back over all the season, names such as Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Fraser Forster, Moussa Dembele, Stuart Armstrong, Aiden McGeady, Gary Hooper and Ki Sung-Yeung were moved on for, collectively, close to £100m when you take in sell-on clauses and what-not.

Not one of them cost more than the £4.4m paid out for Scott Brown in 2007.

There have been too many misses than hits of late, but these eight titles, the possible treble Treble has been built on outstanding housekeeping.