Brendan Rodgers admits Celtic return has been his most challenging season but welcomes ‘magic carpet ride’ alternative

The boss has opened up on the issues he has fielded at Parkhead with the title and Scottish Cup still on the agenda.

He’d only just survived the storm of being accused of casual sexism. One week later on Sunday afternoon, Brendan Rodgers turned up at Tynecastle and waded straight into the eye of a blazing VAR controversy.

That night he invited Liel Abada to his family home to bid a personal and emotional farewell to the most talented winger in his squad. All because of an insurmountable stalemate between the player’s country of birth and the geo-political ideology of the Celtic ultras. And then Rodgers found himself facing a potential touchline ban at a potentially season-defining Old Firm showdown over the post match comments which he thought he’d left behind at the other end of the M8.

If this city and its ancient rivalry is like no other, then this particular season appears to be testing the kind of boundaries that even a manager of Rodgers’ vast experience has never crossed before. “It’s certainly been the most challenging season as a manager that I’ve had, but that’s all part of it,” Rodgers said with a hint of a wince as he reflected on the chaos of these last few weeks.

“It’s the football aspect that I love – that’s the bit that I really enjoy. Of course, the other stuff that comes with it is part of the territory when you’re at a big club, but it’s all a part of the modern game.

“That’s the challenge you have as a manager. During my first time here, I had a magic carpet ride. Any issues were fine and easily dealt with. This season, it feels like there are lots of other elements. But that’s OK – that’s what I get paid for.

“But there’s no doubt it has been my most challenging year as a manager and I’ve managed a long time now. Lots of stuff I’ve had to deal with this season has been new. But you’ve got to get through that. You have to have that resilience and persistence to keep going and focus very much on the football. After that, you deal with the other stuff that comes your way.”

And, in his first nine months back in Glasgow, there’s been plenty of it. So much so that he spent an hour or so yesterday afternoon defending his words and actions all over again rather than talking about Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter final clash with Livingston, which would have been much more inside his managerial comfort zone.

Having accused Don Robertson and John Beaton of incompetence and blamed them for the loss of three league points against Hearts, Rodgers certainly wasn’t for taking a backward step yesterday, even though he’ll face a trial on Hampden’s sixth floor for those comments.

He insists he has no regrets over what was said in the heat of the moment. And that he has not paid any attention to the future that was created. Rodgers went on: “Listen, firstly, I genuinely haven’t seen any reaction. I can understand and I get a sense of it, but I haven’t seen or read or heard anything. I only talked openly and honestly about what I saw in the game – and it was that one game.

“All we look for as coaches and managers is consistency in decisions and I think that the first one, the on-field referee made the correct decision. He gave Yang a yellow card and I think that’s what it was.

“We’ve had incidents prior to that. I obviously watch football day and night, so I see the challenge on Liam Scales the week before against Motherwell where there’s no card.

“I see the Connor Goldson’s straight leg on the Livingston defender and it’s a goal. So, I see that, and I see nothing gets done.

“Then I see our guy, who doesn’t touch anyone’s face with his studs. Admittedly it was high, but it wasn’t reckless, it wasn’t forceful. It’s a yellow card. The reaction, I honestly stay clear of all of that.”

Rodgers revealed also that the official match report of the officials states in black and white that Hyung-jun Yang’s boot connected with the face of Alex Cochrane. A fact which he disputes. He went on: “That was in the match report, and that’s two days later.

“I think everyone’s view, not just mine, if you watch it, then clearly he didn’t do that. I think he brushed his shoulder. But he certainly didn’t have his studs or boot in the face.”

The constant confusion caused at Clydesdale House hasn’t helped to smoothen his reintroduction to the Scottish game. But Rodgers only had to turn on the telly on Thursday night to see that it’s not only a Scottish problem. And that his rivals on the other side of the city are equally exposed to its vagaries.

He nodded: “It was never a penalty that. If you watch John Souttar, it hits his head and then it hits his arm, there’s no way that’s a penalty.”

The thought occurs at this point that perhaps this is a moment for jousting managers to come together and make a point to officialdom for the greater good. But Rodgers isn’t in the mood. He’s nearing his wits’ end.

He said: “I’m not sure that even helps. I’ve got to be honest, I’ve been stood on the touchline more times than not this year with my head in my hands just with things that I see.

“I’ve never been like this in football but I see the time element, the nonsense of looking at a penalty whenever a move is offside, it’s totally irrelevant if it’s offside, and we’ve seen that a few times in a few of the games.

“The game just feels as though it’s slowing up. The whole intensity, the whole tempo, the whole feeling of a game. It just seems to be being refereed outside of the game, and I think that is the big concern.

“The interpretation of it is the difference, from game to game and referee to referee. If you look at our incident where Yang gets sent off, what happens if Liam Scales goes down the week before and starts rolling about holding his face?

“Maybe because he stood up, was honest and just took it, nothing happened. I understand players are cute – players are clever – and you want them to be that. That’s the game, they need to deceive, they need to be clever. That’s what you do.

“But, especially when you now have cameras to see it and observe it, then you expect it to be seen. Like I said, Don Robertson made the right choice in the game.”