Former Celtic player blames Brendan Rodgers decision for exit | OneFootball

Former Celtic player blames Brendan Rodgers decision for exit | OneFootball

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·21 March 2025

Former Celtic player blames Brendan Rodgers decision for exit

Article image:Former Celtic player blames Brendan Rodgers decision for exit

For those looking in from the outside, it seems very simple to succeed at a club like Celtic. Trophies keep coming in at a consistent rate and they are one of the most free-scoring teams in world football, at least at the domestic level. But those familiar with the Hoops would argue that it is one of the most difficult clubs to find your feet at.

The expectation is to win pretty much every game. That means that if you have a bad match or two, you can easily find yourself on the bench or out of the squad altogether. That is how tough the competition for places can be.


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One player who showed a ton of early promise during his time at Celtic is Sead Haksabanovic. But the World Cup break came at the wrong time for him. He never really rediscover his form in the second half of the 22/23 campaign.

Then there was a change in managers. Ange Postecoglou left and Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic Park in order to take the Australian's place. And Haksabanovic never really appeared to be a part of the Northern Irishman's plans.

Former Celtic player blames Brendan Rodgers decision for exit

As reported by the Daily Record, Haksabanovic said while speaking to The Celtic Way:

"He told me, even before Kilmarnock (in a League Cup last 16 tie) that I was not a part of his plan going forward."In the first games of the season, I was not even in the squad, but then Oh Hyeon-gyu picked up an injury, so I was on the bench, despite the manager telling me I was not in his plans."I explained to him that I was 24, and that I needed to play, either on loan or on a permanent transfer – I needed to think about myself and getting game time."He said he would help me with that, but I did not feel like I got the help from him that he promised me – while the board were saying one thing, and he was saying another thing."It was mixed signals for me, so I did not really know what was going on, as the board did not want to accept any of the bids from other teams that were on the table."The moment of realisation was when we played Athletic Club for James Forrest’s testimonial, and the manager switched the whole team, but I didn’t play."I knew that I would not get any minutes, so I looked to leave on loan to get some game time, in order to come back a better player."I wanted to be at Celtic and play for Celtic, but when the manager told me that I was not part of his plan, I got sad – but that’s football, and you need to keep going."

Haksabanovic clearly has a ton of talent. But he has never really been able to put it all together. He spent time out on loan at Stoke City as well. Just like at Celtic, he showed a ton of early promise but his form would fade away.

Ultimately, he did end up leaving Celtic on a permanent basis the following summer. He joined Malmo and we can only wish him the best of luck moving forward. It just was not meant to be for him at Parkhead.

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