Opinion – Brendan Rodgers current Celtic predicament

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·28 Agustus 2025

Opinion – Brendan Rodgers current Celtic predicament

Hope you all are recovering after Tuesday’s debacle. It’s not great when the most joy you have in Europe is when theRangers get humiliated 9-1. A bit of Karma following McCoist and his cohorts outbursts on Tuesday…

Christos Tzolis of Club Brugge celebrates scoring his team’s sixth goal during the UEFA Champions League Play-offs Round Second Leg match between Club Brugge and theRangers at Jan Breydelstadion on August 27, 2025 in Bruges, Belgium. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

Here are my thoughts on Brendan Rodgers’ current predicament at Celtic…

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers exchanges words with Valeri Gromyko of Kairat Almaty Celtic v Kairat Almaty, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, First Leg, Football, Celtic Park on 20 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO/Shutterstock

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Firstly, let me say I am not against Brendan Rodgers and welcomed his appointment second time around. However, he will be leaving relatively soon, it’s just a matter of time. The Board won’t sack him because that would cost them what they regard as their money.

Brendan can’t walk away because he made a promise to the supporters

Brendan can’t walk away because he made a promise at his second coming that he would be here for three years, unless he got his jotters. I guess he is now regretting saying that. Reading between the lines of what has been said or, in the case of the Board, not said, it is reasonable to assume that there is a fracture between the manager and the money men at the club. Hence, it is very unlikely that he will extend his contract.

Brendan Rodgers manager of Celtic talks with their players before being substituted on Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

That is what was behind his statement that he would give his all until the day he walks out the door. This was to counteract any concerns regarding his commitment whilst the clock was ticking on his departure Therefore, the latest he will go is the end of the current season.

The only other scenario

The only other scenario is that another team come in for him and the Board let him go for a wee bit of compensation. I think Brendan Rodgers would only want to go to an English Premier League side.

Nottingham Forrest were reported to be interested but Tuesday’s catastrophe may have dampened any enthusiasm they might have had. Graham Potter’s training top is on a shaky peg so maybe West Ham could be interested? Ruben Amorin’s antics against Grimsby will haunt him for a long time and he may never recover. Having said that, I really don’t think Manchester United would be interested in Brendan as a former manager of Liverpool; the big red nose (Sir Alex Ferguson) would maybe block that.

Brendan Rodgers during the Premier League match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

I also think he wouldn’t want to go mid-season to a team struggling in that league; his preference would be to see out his contract and consider better opportunities at that time.

For me, it would be best all round if he were to accept any offer in the immediate future. I am sure the Board currently have a shortlist of suitable replacements and would act with great alacrity to appoint a successor, although they wouldn’t want to spend any of their money on compensation.

Why do I think that would be the best outcome?

Why do I think that would be the best outcome? He is not going to change his way of playing. John Hartson was spot on with his comments after we were dumped out of the Champions League. We played the same tactics against a team we knew would play the same tactics as the first leg….definition of insanity.

I was speaking to a Liverpool supporter recently and he said the same; Brendan Rodgers couldn’t and wouldn’t change. He inherited a reasonably good team at Liverpool and would have won the league had Gerrard not slipped, but he was never able to build on that and was removed after a long series of mediocre performances.

Brendan Rodgers during the Premier League match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

I haven’t spoken to any Leicester City fans recently but from memory, Rodgers made a number of big money signings and won the FA Cup. Unfortunately, financial fair play regulations needed to be adhered to and some of the better players were sold to balance the books. The manager was not able to stop the side’s regression during his last season and was removed before they were relegated.

So what does this mean for Celtic?

So what does this mean for Celtic? Brendan Rodgers inherited a good team from Ange Postecoglou and many of our better players were brought in by the big Aussie. I don’t think many would argue that, after two seasons in charge, the current team is weaker than the one he inherited. We played some good football last season but recent departures and the failure by the club to bring in a “wee bit of quality” mean that we don’t have the players to play the Brendan way. But that won’t stop him.

I also think Brendan was culpable in the departure of Kyogo. The wee man could conjure a goal out of nothing but Rodgers was not keen on him because he didn’t fit into his style of playing. Alternatively, it may have been that Rodgers’ was keen to push one his big signings, Adam Idah. Either way, Kyogo left and has never been replaced.

Kyogo. Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

How we could have done with Kyogo against that team from Kazakhstan. By the way, I think the club should reimburse the costs of the 400 fans that travelled to support the team. Let some good come out of that debacle.

Hope thrashes expectation again

When Brendan Rodgers leaves, and in all probability that is likely to be the end of this season, his replacement needs to be through the door without delay to make best use of the transfer window and pre-season if we are to have any chance in the European qualifiers. Hope thrashes expectation again! There is of course still a small and diminished chance that he will depart earlier.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers Celtic v St Mirren, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 3 August 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace, IMAGO / Shutterstock (The Celtic Star)

As I said, I am not anti-Rodgers and I accept that others at the club may be more culpable for our decline. I just think we are where we are and the manager’s predicament needs to be clarified and addressed. If he is leaving in the summer does he have a say in the January transfer business, or while the board use that as an excuse to avoid any meaningful spending. Remember last time they told us January is always a difficult window – in comparison to what – the SUMMER window? How that turning out?

Christopher Wotherspoon

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