OPINION
Adrian Durham has suggested that Brendan Rodgers should quit Celtic in the summer and he was completely wrong to do so.
The talkSPORT pundit revealed that he thought with Rangers potentially pushing for the title next season and the Hoops unlikely to go any further in Europe then they already have, the Celtic manager should protect his CV and leave at the end of the season.
“I’m looking at it thinking this is the second season for Brendan Rodgers, he can’t do any better, he can’t do any more,” said Durham on talkSPORT, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“The problem with the third year is that he’s not really going to do anything that he’s not done before, he’s been unbeaten and I can’t see them going any further in Europe.
“I think he has to get out before Rangers overtake them, he has to think I don’t want this to be on my watch.
“I don’t want Rangers to catch up with Celtic on my watch, I don’t want that on my CV, and I think there’s a real possibility of that next season.”
While it’s true that life is set to get harder for Rodgers next season with the re-emergence of Rangers, that should make him want to stay if anything.
The Hoops manager may have won the domestic treble in his first season and looks set to bring even more trophies to Celtic Park this season, however he should want more.
Celtic once again failed to have any real impact in Europe this season, as they exited the Champions League at the group stages and crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday courtesy of Zenit St Petersburg.
While Durham suggested they couldn’t go any further in Europe, that is simply not true.
The Hoops have a lot of talented youngsters in their side, along with players capable of performing at the highest level when at their best, so there’s definitely a foundation in place which will allow them to kick-on in Europe.
Succeeding in Europe would take the Hoops to the next level, and whichever manager gets them there will be showered with plaudits.
Now if Rodgers is confident that he is a talented manager, which he no doubt is, he will want to prove his skill by being the man to hand Celtic European success.
However if he was to run away from a rewarding challenge such as this, then he would miss out on an opportunity to prove he is capable of achieving something that many pundits think isn’t possible with Celtic.
Also aside from wanting to stay because of potential European success, Rodgers needs to stay to prove his previous accomplishments meant something.
The manager looks set to win his second Scottish Premier League title this season, as Celtic are currently nine points clear at the top, but his side were unchallenged for the majority of the campaign.
It was the same story when he lifted the trophy last season, so staying and winning the title in his third season, when Rangers are potentially genuine contenders, will prove his ability more than those other league wins.
Therefore Durham’s suggestion that Rodgers needs to leave is simply absurd, as the truth is Rodgers should want to stay as the job as it about to become more rewarding.
Rodgers still has doubters to silence who undervalue his success in the Scottish league, but he can send out a real statement if he can build a team that can compete on the European stage.