Brendan Rodgers told some inside Celtic Park would rather see him fail as sabotage rumour floated

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Brendan Rodgers’ relationship with the Celtic hierarchy has been widely debated.

Whilst Rodgers has insisted that his personal relationships with them are positive, the results of their working relationship are telling a different story.

In a summer transfer window which saw Nicolas Kuhn depart for Como early on, the Celts’ attempts to find attacking reinforcements dragged on and on.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha was courted throughout the window, and whilst he is now a Celtic player, the club were unable to secure the deal before their crucial Champions League play-off against Kairat Almaty.

Rodgers was understandably left frustrated by this unsuccessful pursuit, and other aspects of the window – and for some, there is more to this relationship than meets the eye.

Some inside Celtic Park would rather see Brendan Rodgers fail says Mark Guidi

Brendan Rodgers is no stranger to the idea that he ‘plays games’ with the Celtic board – fans have often read deeply into his quotes during transfer windows.

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However, could there be some internal sabotage going on? Ridiculous as it may seem, it was a point of discussion on the Go Radio Football Show, with Mark Guidi considering the idea.

He said: “There’s a train of thought among Celtic supporters that inside Celtic Park, people are trying to see the manager not do well by not giving him the tools that he needs to do the job.

“I don’t know why they would, but there’s been a line out there that some people inside Celtic Park would rather see Brendan Rodgers fail than the team succeed.

“You’d like to think and hope that wouldn’t be the case, but that’s the perception out there about the Celtic manager, and that’s quite alarming – and they would back it up with evidence, looking at the window.”

Rodgers’ future has been a point of discussion in Celtic circles, and should there be anything to these rumours, he can’t be sticking around for long.

Brendan Rodgers has been in this position at Celtic before

The Parkhead boss is in his sixth season across two spells in Glasgow, and this is not the first time that the club’s transfer business has dominated discussion.

The failed pursuit of midfield target John McGinn in 2018 has become infamous, and undoubtedly played a part in Rodgers eventually departing for Leicester the following year.

In January 2024, the lack of Greg Taylor back-up was the point of conversation after Alexandro Bernabei’s move to Brazil – Anthony Ralston ended up deputising at left-back on a number of occasions.

The cycle repeated a year later, when Kyogo Furuhashi’s move to Rennes resulted in a return for Jota, but no central striker. Regardless of whether ‘playing games’ is his thing, Rodgers is getting increasingly experienced in it.