New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has given his first press conference since rejoining the club, addressing a number of topics including the club’s ambition in Europe and the hurt caused by his 2019 exit to Leicester City.
The departure was controversial at the time and the bad feeling generated has lingered for a section of the Celtic support to this day. Inevitably he was asked about it by the assembled Scottish media this afternoon and addressed it head-on.
Rodgers said [Celtic TV]: “It’s natural. When I left it was a sad moment. I certainly don’t regret it. But what I do regret is the hurt that it caused people. It’s the very reason that I’m sat here today.
“As a Celtic supporter, I understood what it meant. Probably even more so when I left. That was my regret, that I hurt people who were Celtic supporters and it was a big part of coming back.”
Hopefully, that draws a line under this topic for now. He’s been asked the question, answered from his perspective and we can all move on for the betterment of the team and the club while he’s in charge.
As expected, there was no outright apology and his answer was diplomatic. We were never going to get anything more than that. As some observers have noted today, it would have been disingenuous for him to issue the full ‘sorry, everyone’ routine.
Rodgers made a career decision and it didn’t chime with the ambitions or feelings of the Celtic fans. That is undeniable. Now he’s back to win and look to the future, rather than consider the past too much.
The same goes for resting on the successes he’s already enjoyed in Glasgow. He made it clear in his first interview and press conference that he isn’t here to do that either. It’s all about pushing on from a position of strength. And that can only be a good thing for Celtic and for the fans.
In other news, Sporting director hails “biggest sale ever” after business with Celtic; Bhoys beat other clubs to it.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
