Brendan Rodgers’ second stint as Celtic manager has ended prematurely, with the club’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond responding with a lengthy and spiky statement
Celtic’s second spell with Brendan Rodgers at the helm might have ended messily, but the Glasgow club have been urged to pursue another managerial reunion. Ange Postecoglou secured the title before leaving for Tottenham in 2023, with Rodgers returning in his stead, and former Celtic striker Chris Sutton wants to see the Australian back at Parkhead.
Rodgers resigned as manager on Monday, not long after a defeat at Hearts left the Bhoys eight points adrift at the top of the table. Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney are in temporary charge while a permanent successor is identified, with Postecoglou among the bookies’ favourites.
“I think Ange Postecoglou would be a really smart appointment. He was loved the first time round,” Sutton – who won four league titles as a Celtic player – told Sky Sports.
“His brand of football went down well in Glasgow. He’s out of work. I think that would be a pretty obvious choice, a good choice and bring a lot of positivity back to Celtic, which they need right now.”
Sutton also supported the return of O’Neill, who led Celtic to three league titles during a five-year spell as permanent manager.. “I think that the support will be happy that Martin has come back because he was loved in his time as manager there,” the former England international wrote.
READ MORE: Martin O’Neill backed rivals to win league title just hours before Celtic appointment
Celtic major shareholder Dermot Desmond tore into Rodgers in a public statement after the manager’s resignation. “Despite ample opportunity, he was unable to identify a single instance where the club had obstructed or failed to support him,” part of the statement read. “The facts did not match his public narrative. Regrettably, his words and actions since then have been divisive, misleading, and self-serving.
“They have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club and fuelled hostility towards members of the executive team and the Board. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable.”
If Celtic do move for Postecoglou, they will do so with the manager’s stock at a low ebb. He led Spurs to Europa League glory last season but also oversaw a 17th-place finish in the league, while his spell at Nottingham Forest this season ended after just 39 days and no wins.
Postecoglou attempted to defend his record before Forest pulled the plug, pointing to a fifth-place finish in his first Spurs season as well as the trophy in his second. “So, we get to the current space where there’s a different story to tell, that maybe I’m not a failed manager who was lucky to get this job, but maybe I’m a manager that if you give them time, the story always ends the same. At all my previous clubs, it ends the same – with me and a trophy,” he said.
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