Brendan Rodgers claimed he had never been happier at Celtic after leading the team to a fourth consecutive title.
The Hoops clinched a 13th William Hill Premiership crown in 14 seasons with a 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
It was an 11th trophy for Rodgers during his two spells as Celtic boss and he can complete his third treble if his side beat Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final.
The 52-year-old appears to have restored his reputation with the vast majority of Celtic fans after leaving mid-season for Leicester in 2019 and he again reiterated he is committed to serving his three-year contract.
Rodgers agreed it was fair to say he is happier than ever in his job and added: “It’s been interesting the last few months, people deciding where I was supposed to be going and I wasn’t happy.
“But I would say listen to what I say, not what people try to anticipate my mood and what it might be.
“I said 150, 200 per cent I’ll be here for sure next season because we want to build again, we want to grow.
“But what I’ll also say, there’s very, very few people that know me and there’s even less understand me.
“I don’t have an agent, so I don’t have an agent spinning a story for me or anything like that. So if there’s a headline out there, I am telling you, it’s a guess.
“But absolutely, I am so, so happy.
“I came back because of the professional challenge of Celtic, knowing the pressures. My emotional attachment to the club clearly has me here rather than elsewhere. And just the chance to be the best manager at Celtic that I can possibly be. And days like this make it really special.”
Rodgers added: “I said minimum I would be here three years.
“The big thing with Celtic, it’s about having the energy. That’s the big thing, and there’s lots of other things of course. As any manager, you need to feel wanted, you need to feel appreciated. You need to feel that you can develop a team, you can develop a club.
“So there’s lots of things that come into it, but I definitely know that we want to finish better than we did last year. And then I’ll go into next year super hungry to beat this year, whatever we end up doing.”
Celtic faced some early pressure before Ryan Strain’s 30th-minute own goal started a flurry of goals either side of half-time with Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah both hitting doubles to seal the title.
“I know there was a wee bit of chat around, tedious I think the word was of someone, but it’s not tedious for me, for the football club,” he said.
“If we land at 15 points ahead with fives games left and a plus-42 goal difference ahead of our nearest rival, I’ll tell you what, that’s not tedious, that’s professionalism at its highest level and concentration and performances.”
It was not all positive for Celtic. Jota went off with a knee injury in the first half and was hobbling badly with his leg heavily braced during the celebrations.
“The medical guys are looking at whether his meniscus is a little bit sore,” Rodgers said. “We’ll just have to assess that. They put it in the brace to protect it, but we’ll see in the next couple of days.”
Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin bemoaned the turning point.
“It sounds bizarre to sit here and say for the opening half an hour I thought we were very good, the shape of the team was good and we were aggressive with the press, forced Celtic into playing a lot longer than they would normally have liked,” he said.
“But the first goal was a real kick in the teeth given it’s a bit of misfortune.
“The second one comes from a promising attack that we had, a tame effort on goal, but then within five or six seconds, with the pace of Celtic on the counter attack, the ball ends up in the back of your net.”
[(Leeds United) Strength]: 1. After relegation, Leeds United returned to the Premier League this season as the EFL Championship winners. The team significantly strengthened their squad during the summer transfer window, with the goal of staying in the Premier League this season. For their opening home game against Everton, they are determined to secure a winning start to the league, showing strong...
[(Elche) Strength]: 1. As the newly promoted team this season, Elche are motivated to start with a home win in their debut.2. In the summer window, Elche signed midfielder Federico Redondo, Real Madrid loan forward Alvaro Rodriguez, and Valencia CF striker German Valera.3. Elche finished 22 wins, 11 draws, and 9 losses in the Segunda Division last season, smoothly being promoted as the 2nd-placed ...
Liverpool's asking price for Konate revealed amid Madrid interestAccording to Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool have informed all interested parties that they would demand a fee in the region of £35 million, amid strong interest from Real Madrid. Los Blancos have been linked with a move for the French centre-back since last month, when it was reported that Konate had refused to sign a new contract.K...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Man Utd 0-1 Corner FC Man Utd vs Arsenal 1st half Chelsea 0-0 Crystal Palace Viktor Gyokeres Chelsea The most touches by any player in Premier League history Onana on the bench watching Bayindir… Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, FootballLaughss)...
Lamela explains retirement decision: It started 11 years ago...Former Tottenham and Roma midfielder Erik Lamela says his hip problems has forced him into retirement.The Argentine, while contracted to Sevilla, announced his retirement last week at the age of 33 and last night took to social media to explain his decision.Lamela said: "I want to announce that I have made the decision to end my profes...
Brentford concern as Man Utd, Spurs join Liverpool in Collins battleBrentford face a battle to keep hold of captain Nathan Collins this month.The 24 year-old defender is attracting interest from the Premier League's biggest clubs before the September 1 deadline.The Daily Mail says Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham are all targeting Collins as they seek a new centre-half addition.The Repub...
Mo Salah and Federico Chiesa of Liverpool celebrateTitle challengers Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all made winning starts but in contrasting fashion on the first weekend of the Premier League season.Defending champions Liverpool needed late drama to beat Bournemouth on an emotional night at Anfield, City cruised to a 4-0 win at Wolves, while Arsenal fought a rearguard action to hold on t...
Willian set for 'key' Chelsea role after debut vs PalaceChelsea manager Enzo Maresca praised new signing Estevao Willian after the Brazilian dazzled on his Premier League debut against Crystal Palace. Introduced in the 54th minute for fellow recruit Jamie Gittens, he impressed Stamford Bridge with his speed and skillful play.Maresca has predicted that Willian will become an “important”...
BVB, Monaco and Ajax go for unwanted West Ham midfielder AlvarezWest Ham United are inviting offers for Edson Alvarez.The Mexico international has been transfer-listed by the Hammers as they seek to raise funds late in the summer window.TMW says West Ham boss Graham Potter has approved Alvarez's sale as he sees the Mexico captain as surplus to requirements.Despite Potter's opinion, Alvarez is attr...
Man Utd winger Sancho stalling Roma moveManchester United winger Jadon Sancho must accept a drastic pay-cut to complete a move to AS Roma.United and Roma have reached agreement over a fee for the England international. However, local media sources say the move is stalling due to Sancho's reluctance to accept Roma's current contract offer.United have accepted an offer of €23m from Roma for Sa...
- 1 Brentford Agree Deal to Sign Dango Ouattara From Bournemouth
- 2 TIPS - Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas VS Liga Deportiva Universitaria
- 3 Hummels snubs son for match with new model girlfriend
- 4 TIPS - Villarreal VS Real Oviedo
- 5 Agent of Real Madrid defender David Alaba responds to Saudi Pro League transfer speculation as Spanish giants ponder selling 33-year-old after injury woes
- 6 TIPS - Club Necaxa VS Club Leon
- 7 Emotional Arne Slot admits he had wanted to bring late Diogo Jota on as a substitute in Liverpool's dramatic victory over Bournemouth
- 8 Benjamin Sesko vs Viktor Gyokeres: Man Utd-Arsenal showdown sets early stage for big-money No.9s to show the Premier League what they can offer
- 9 Lamela explains retirement decision: It started 11 years ago...
- 10 TIPS - Cambuur Leeuwarden VS FC Oss