Nobody should be fooled by the shy and retiring facade of Michael Nicholson – along with the sharp mind there also lurks a sense of humour.
Once the cameras had finished flashing at the media unveiling of Brendan Rodgers on his return to Parkhead yesterday, it was left to the lawyer to ease the tension in the room by raising a few laughs over his role in securing this remarkable reunion. There was also brevity. Care was taken when detailing the financial parameters the Northern Irishman will work under, no bold promises nor mentions of war chests.
But it was the CEO’s ability to break the ice on an inquisition for his returning manager which allowed time and space for Rodgers to relax and sell his own vision of the future. It may have appeared highly unlikely that a Rodgers return would be the outcome of a search to replace Ange Postecoglou, but the Australian is already yesterday’s man. Nicholson did give a few nervous glances at the Prodigal Son before being handed the floor as he fielded a question about the recruitment process.
He admitted it began with a trip to Spain and joked that any hope of a cloak and dagger approach was blown by Celtic’s finance director Chris McKay as the pair set off for talks with their number one target. He said: “Chris McKay and myself went for lunch in Majorca, that was the starting point and perhaps the worst kept secret in Scottish football.
“Perhaps, Chris’ beach ball and sombrero gave us away at the airport. You always have to be ready for change in football, when Ange left we knew we had to replace him with a manager of top, top quality.
“In Brendan, we know we have got that. We have invested in the squad over the last couple of years and have a very young and hungry squad. We profiled managers through the process that we thought could take us on and Brendan was the stand-out candidate. Our priority was to bring Brendan back to Celtic and we are delighted to do so.”
Hoops chairman Peter Lawwell brought Nicholson into the club’s executive fold a decade ago and until yesterday he remained very much in the shadows. But he’s clearly someone who picks his words with a duty of care not to promote any hyperbole or false expectations.
It’s been reported that Rodgers will be handed £30million to try and make inroads in Europe, but Nicholson wasn’t for stating figures. He did, however, admit that bringing him back was about reinforcing a world class standard at
the club.
Rodgers will be given the resources to try and maintain domestic dominance while trying to head into uncharted Champions League territory He said: “From our perspective the strategy has always been clear and that’s to be a world class football club in whatever we do.
“We want to dominate in Scotland, we want to compete in the Champions League and that’s been clearly stated for many, many years. So there is no change in that regard. What we have done is to try and continuously improve as a football club and to invest. We have got a sustainable model, a self-financing model so we invest when we can for today, tomorrow and for the long-term. We all want the same thing, which is to win.”
Nicholson and McKay sold Rodgers on a future for Celtic which sealed the deal on his return and the CEO admits their top target ticks all of the boxes in being able to continue the success of predecessor Postecoglou.
Rodgers has signed a three-year deal and Nicholson believes the length of the contract is a statement of intent by both manager and club. There could also have been scope on that subject to make for another laugh but the CEO was back to plain speaking and business.
He said: “When Chris and I met with Brendan it was clear there was a mutual excitement at what we could go on to do. This is a mutual statement of our commitment to that. So that was an important part of it, yes.”
Lawwell admits that the familiarity Rodgers has with the Celtic staff only added to the club’s desire to land the man at the very top of their wish list. Sitting to Rodgers’ right, the former chief executive provided a glowing endorsement of a manager who’s desire to come back to the east end of Glasgow was music to his ears.
He said: “Brendan was the outstanding candidate and clearly knows Celtic. He knows how we operate and he knows how we work, he also had an outstanding track record the last time he was here.
“He knows the backroom and he knows the executive so he was the ideal candidate and the outstanding candidate. We were delighted when he said ‘yes’ and accepted the job.”
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