Away from Celtic’s Champions League misery for a bit, former Tottenham defender, Steven Caulker, has shared a brilliant story about Brendan Rodgers when the Hoops gaffer was manager of Swansea City.
The defender who once famously switched international allegiances from England to Sierre Leone after declaring he would love to play for Scotland (yeah, I know!), was left seriously impressed with Rodgers and how he helped him settle in at the Welsh side.
Caulker said [Off The Shelf], “Unreal. One of the best years of my career. Fast forward from Bristol City, another good year, came back and I was like where am I going to go next?
“Premier League comes calling, not a single doubt in my mind. Let’s go.
“Brendan Rodgers picked me up from the train station. Little details like that I look back on and I’m like he was really good.
“He drove me around the city we live in [told me where] a lot of players are living and about a restaurant [he went to with his wife].
“So I just felt a part of something straight away and it was a really nice touch from him and I’ve not had that since in my career.”
Celtic were linked with Steven Caulker in 2017
Incredibly, Caulker was linked with a move to Celtic during Rodgers’ first tenure as the Hoops manager in 2017.
So it seems that the big defender also left his mark on the Irishman as well. At the time, Rodgers said of Caulker [The Scotsman], “We spoke at length about his life and his situation and just where he is at. He is a boy that if he can get it together and find peace, then he is an awesome talent. He is 6ft 3in, quick, strong, he can play. You would take him to war with you.
“He is unbelievable in both boxes, he is an incredible young footballer but he is suffering. Having had experience in trying to help him previously, I was only too happy to do that. At this stage there is nothing more than that. He is obviously a QPR player and I was only too happy to speak to him and help him try to shape his life really.”
This was at a time when Dedryk Boyata was injured and Rodgers was looking for defensive cover but nothing ever really materialised from the links.
However, this is a great story and it is little wonder that players like Liam Scales and Matt O’Riley are flourishing under Rodgers at Celtic as he does seem to have that personal touch with young players.
In other news, Growing belief £25m player wants to return to Glasgow, Celtic move is possible