It’s been seven weeks since Brendan Rodgers left Celtic.
In truth, it feels like seven years, with the amount that has happened in the time since Dermot Dosmond slated Rodgers in a bombshell statement.
Martin O’Neill replaced him on an interim basis, and all seemed to be well again – but the introduction of Wilfried Nancy has certainly not delivered the result we would’ve hoped.
Celtic are now, at best, back at square one – and while all that has been happening, Rodgers has a new job in Saudi Arabia.
And at his first press conference, he wasn’t allowed to forget one controversy from his late days at Celtic.
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Brendan Rodgers on infamous Celtic comments
Rodgers gave us some brilliant quotes in his final months at Parkhead.
But none are more infamous than his Honda Civic comments after losing 2-0 to Dundee.
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Despite a fair bit of condemnation in the media, Rodgers didn’t apologise for his comments. His budget at Al-Qadsiah could buy a fair few Ferraris.
At his unveiling press conference, one reporter asked: “First of all, welcome to Saudi Arabia, it’s your first job abroad.
“Firstly – as a coach – you mentioned back in the days at Celtic that you were comparing your squad as Honda Civics.
“How do you translate that to today’s team? The team that you have, in Qadsiah. Obviously, the transfer market is approaching – will we see a lot of changes or not?
“And how will the club back you in the winter?”
Rodgers replied: “Firstly, that was one of the big attractions of coming to this club, to work with these players.
“There’s some really exciting talents and players within the squad. However, we know, to make the next steps, there are some gaps in the squad that we want to improve on.
“That’s something that we as a club have spoken about, and hopefully in the future we can do that.
“But I’ve had two days’ training with the team, and I’m very impressed with their attitude and mentality, and how they have received our ideas.
“I think that we obviously want to improve the squad, and of course, if the right player becomes available, then I’m sure the club would like to help the squad.”
Six weeks on, how do you feel about Brendan Rodgers’ acrimonious Celtic departure?
Brendan Rodgers’ second spell at Celtic
Rodgers’ Celtic return was marked by three very very different seasons.
For much of his first campaign, it just didn’t feel right – but the team found their feet in the later stages of the season, overturning Rangers’ lead in the league and beating them in the Scottish Cup final.
His second season saw investment in the summer window, and this was rewarded by a much better Champions League campaign than we had become accustomed to in recent times. Domestically, the team were a penalty shootout away from a treble.
But the Scottish Cup final loss rang alarms that only got louder in his third campaign, when a disastrous Champions League qualifying defeat to Kairat Almaty and a poor start to the league highlighted issues with the squad that eventually led to his departure.
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