Brendan Rodgers confirmed he would be going nowhere this summer after steering Celtic to the brink of a fourth consecutive championship.
An Aberdeen victory over Rangers this afternoon will confirm Celtic’s 13th title in 14 years after the Parkhead side beat Kilmarnock 5-1 at home in their final league match before the split.
Rodgers admitted he was still frustrated at his side throwing away the chance to win it on their own terms after losing to St Johnstone last weekend, but stressed it would still be a sweet moment should rivals Rangers lose at Pittodrie to make it official.
‘I think any time you get over the line, it is (satisfying),’ he said. ‘I am still frustrated it’s not today if I am honest.
But we can’t do anything about that now. We’ve done everything we could do today. And whenever and if it comes, we have to be ready for it. So we’ll see what the split brings after this weekend.
We have obviously got the semi-final (against St Johnstone), so we’re arriving to that in a great place. We can only do our job.
Brendan Rodgers takes the acclaim of the Celtic fans after defeating Kilmarnock
Celtic substitute Anthony Ralston fires home the fifth goal in stoppage time
‘If Aberdeen win tomorrow, then brilliant. Whoever wins the league is always deserving champions. But what’s important for us was not just to win today, but in a style that this team has shown for most of the season. And that was an incredible reaction to last week.’
Celtic were in devastating form in the first half especially, with Reo Hatate scoring twice and Daizen Maeda and Cameron Carter-Vickers also getting on the scoresheet. Anthony Ralston’s 90th-minute strike added an extra sheen to the scoreline after Danny Armstrong had got one back for Killie.
Rodgers had demanded a response after his side’s insipid showing at McDiarmid Park and was more than delighted with what his players gave him.
‘It was perfect,’ he added. ‘It’s what we talked about in the week, about having that winning attitude. You mix that with the talent and that’s the type of performance we produce. As disappointing as it was last week, I am so happy for the players and the team this week.
‘The performance level was so high, especially in the first half.
‘The connections, the speed in the game, the quality of the football, everything that is good about this Celtic team — that was it today.’
Rodgers was coy on whether he would follow the action from Pittodrie, his only firm commitment to cheer on countryman Rory McIlroy at The Masters.
‘I don’t know (if he will watch the game),’ he added. ‘I probably won’t, in all fairness. Rory’s had a great start and we’ll watch that for sure.’
Rodgers moved to clear up some comments made in his pre-match media conference on Friday where he said every club needs to add ‘freshness (around the playing squad). Either that or the manager goes’.
Hatate fails Maeda after the striker scored Celtic’s second goal against Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes looks on at Celtic Park on Saturday
But he vowed he would still be around to see out the third and final year of his deal and suggested there might be talks around a possible extension.
‘I think if you were sitting in my press conference here on the very first day I arrived, I promised unless I was removed I’d be here for three years minimum,’ he added. ‘So nothing changes.
‘There’s absolutely no doubt, unless Dermot (Desmond, Celtic’s principal shareholder) tells me differently in the summer, I will be excited and ready for the beginning of the season.
‘I was always going to be here for the three years but I’m sure we’ll have a chat of some sort over the course of the summer (about an extension). But for now, it’s focusing on getting the job done.
‘It’s been a great, great journey for us up until now. So we’ll look to finish in the best way we possibly can.’
Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes had no gripes about the outcome, believing Celtic in this form are almost unstoppable.
‘When you actually see Celtic like that, you think, “How can they lose games? How can they lose games against teams in the league?”’ he asked. ‘We got a bit of a run around for long spells.
‘It’s hard to take any positives from it.
‘I think it was a combination of Celtic upping their levels, playing in a manner which they can for periods of that first half, and us just not being able to cope with that, to be honest.
‘The team that normally wins the league is the team with the biggest investment and has the best squad.’
