Brendan's media masterclass has left the Celtic leadership pretty much snookered

Word-perfect delivery hit all the targets and put him in position of even greater strength

- MICHAEL GANNON

"BY the way, Kilmarnock play 5-4-1, sometimes 5-3-2...

Brendan Rodgers parting words on Friday after one of the most incredible press conferences in recent memory were every bit as pitch perfect as the thousands that came before.

No one in the Lennoxtown media room had even mentioned Kilmarnock during the 32 minutes in which the Celtic manager held court and didn’t miss a single target.

Today's game at Rugby Park is huge - but in the circumstances it was a sideshow.

And Rodgers knew it.

He also knew hed delivered a kind of media masterclass that should be shown on SFA coaching courses at Inverclyde for the next 20 years.

Seriously, a few of us long-term Rodgers observers have witnessed some crackers over the years.

But this one was on another level. Ifthe Northern Irishman’ old pal Jose Mourinho had been sitting in the back row he would have been grinning in appreciation.

If the battle lines have been drawn between the Celtic fans and the board, Rodgers has planted himself on a giant hill somewhere in between - and Hoops fans won't need any convincing to climb up to join him.

Celtic fans reckon some AI app helped produce that wild club statement last week.