Brendan Rodgers has resigned as Celtic manager, with Martin O’Neill agreeing a temporary return to the club as his replacement.
Rodgers, 52, returned for a second spell at Celtic Park in 2023, winning successive titles, to go with his league triumphs from 2017 and 2018.
However, the former Liverpool and Leicester City boss departs with the champions trailing Hearts by eight points after nine games of this season.
A club statement revealed that Rodgers offered his resignation, which was accepted with immediate effect.
Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s largest shareholder, then added a blistering message of his own, accusing Rodgers of “divisive, misleading, and self-serving” behaviour.
O’Neill, 73, managed Celtic from 2000-05, winning three Scottish Premier League titles, three Scottish Cups, and a League Cup.
He will be joined by Shaun Maloney, who had two spells as a player with Celtic and has management experience with Hibernian and Wigan Athletic.
Rdgers agreed a three-year deal on his return and repeatedly stressed that he would honour the contract since his prior departure in February 2019 had caused so much rancour.
When quizzed about extending that agreement in August, he insisted there had been no formal offer.
But Desmond has now given his side of events, saying the club were keen to keep Rodgers on beyond the end of this campaign to “reaffirm the club’s full backing and long-term commitment to him”.
The Irish businessman went on to say that Rodgers’ assertion that no offer had been made was “simply untrue”.
This season has played out against a backdrop of anti-board protests at Celtic Park and Desmond accused Rodgers of contributing to a “toxic atmosphere”.
Another feature in the opening months of this term was Rodgers’ apparent dismay over transfer business, with several references to underwhelming recruitment over the summer.
Speaking after the 2-0 loss at Dundee on 19 October, he said: “There’s no way you’ll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say ‘I want you to drive it like a Ferrari’. It’s not going to happen.”
But Desmond wrote: “Every player signed and every player sold during his tenure was done so with Brendan’s full knowledge, approval, and endorsement. Any insinuation otherwise is absolutely false.
“His later public statements about transfers and club operations came entirely out of the blue. At no point prior to those remarks had he raised any such concerns.
“In reality, he was given final say over all football matters and was consistently backed in the recruitment process, including record investment in players he personally identified and approved.
“What has failed recently was not due to our structure or model, but to one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others.”
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Source: myjoyonline.com
