Former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has once again tried to save face by comparing his own departure to that of Kieran Tierney.
Rodgers dramatically quit the club in February when English side Leicester City came calling. The timing and nature of his departure left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Celtic support and the Northern Irishman is now a much vilified figure despite winning seven trophies in less than three seasons.
But the Leicester manager has tried to save his reputation once again by claiming that he and Arsenal’s Tierney are both in the same situation.
“I’m told he has been criticised by some fans for leaving,” Rodgers told the Daily Record. “I understand that and he’ll understand it too. We both know that, for a big part of the Celtic support, there is no other club in the world than Celtic.
“So when they feel like one of their own has chosen to move on they can’t understand it.
“Kieran and I both get that. We can see it from their perspective because it hurts.”
Rodgers walked out on the club, Tierney didn’t
Tierney and Rodgers are not viewed in the same light by the vast majority of the Celtic support. The Northern Irishman is disliked because he left the club in a sticky situation just days before a double header in Edinburgh in late February.
Rodgers left and took a number of his backroom team with him. Had it not been for the steady hand of Neil Lennon, we may have squandered a third successive treble or even eight in-a-row.
Tierney, in comparison, left in the close-season for a Scottish record fee. Many fans would have liked to see him play in Glasgow for another few years but we understood that his ambitions may lie elsewhere.
Fans can deal with players leaving the club – that’s how football works nowadays. But managers walking out during a run of pivotal matches can never just be accepted.
The sooner Rodgers realises that and keeps his mouth shut the better.
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