The manner in which Brendan Rodgers handled the often-turbulent winds around Celtic last season, coming through in fine style to deliver a league and Scottish Cup double, had allowed him to work his way back into the favours of a great many supporters.
But even those achievements probably didn’t do as much to restore his reputation among the Celtic fans than the verbal volley he aimed in the direction of Rangers this afternoon.
There is kicking your opponent when they are down, and then there is applying your boot to their throat, and as Rodgers addressed the latest developments in the seemingly interminable Old Firm ticketing saga, he certainly didn’t miss Celtic’s beleaguered city rivals.
It’s not us, it’s them, was the general theme, with Rodgers not only defending his own club vigorously, but placing the onus on Rangers to explain just how this entire situation came to unfold.
Celtic, as far as Rodgers is concerned, held up their end of the bargain, spending a significant amount of money on works to accommodate a larger Rangers support at Celtic Park for the fixture in a couple of weeks’ time.
The club, with Rodgers as their representative out front, are clearly in no mood to allow the Rangers supporters to take advantage of those works without a steadfast guarantee that their own fans would be afforded similar access to Ibrox, if indeed Rangers are back playing at their own ground by the time the second meeting between the sides is scheduled to take place in early January.
“I think the board have made a really, really good decision in terms of the club's job is to protect the support,” Rodgers said.
“If there's not that guarantee that come the second fixture [our fans can attend], then I think it's only logical that you wouldn't reciprocate.
“So, I think Celtic have played their part in what they were asked to do. Again, I go back, nothing of this was Celtic's issue. Nothing. When you go back to when this all started, it's nothing to do with Celtic.
“Celtic gets dragged into this here as being a Celtic-Rangers thing. It's not a Celtic-Rangers thing. This is a Rangers thing.
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“So, Celtic, when even they're asked to have this agreement to make the stadium safe and everything else, we plough money into that, we do the works, which started months ago.
“That, like I said, on both parties, it hasn't been agreed. So, it's not complicated. It hasn't been done.
“So, good faith, whatever way you want to put it, there's still an agreement for both, right. So, it's not done. It's not great faith. If we allow Rangers supporters in, then we get to January and our own supporters can't get in, it's not good faith.
“So, I think that the agreement hasn't been upheld. So, Celtic, rightly, have to defend their supporters and the club. And sadly, the Rangers supporters miss out on this game and Celtic in the return game.
“But let's hope that after that, we can then find a way to get the supporters in.”
