Well that came out of nowhere.
In what feels like an unprecedented moment, Brendan Rodgers has resigned as Celtic manager.
The noise surrounding the club at the moment has been well-documented, with Celtic fans protesting after a desperately poor summer transfer window.
Rodgers has been pointed in his messages in the media, saying that he felt ’empty’ after the summer transfer window, and condemning the ‘cowardly action’ of the summer transfer window.
And as if things couldn’t already be more dramatic, Dermot Desmond has come out with a sensational statement aimed at the departed boss.
Celtic majority shareholder Dermot Desmond launches attack on Brendan Rodgers
The statement is truly extraordinary. Desmond does not hold back.
And it comes less than an hour after the breaking of the news that Rodgers had left. The news itself is still very raw.
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The explosive statement reads as follows: “In June, both Michael Nicholson and I expressed to Brendan that we were keen to offer him a contract extension, to reaffirm the club’s full backing and long-term commitment to him.
“He said he would need to think about it and revert. Yet in subsequent press conferences, Brendan implied that the club had made no commitment to offer him a contract. That was simply untrue.
“His later public statements about transfers and club operations came entirely out of the blue. At no point prior to those remarks had he raised any such concerns with me, Michael, or any member of the Board or executive team.
“In reality, he was given final say over all football matters and was consistently backed in the recruitment process — including record investment in players he personally identified and approved.
“When his comments were made publicly, I sought to address them directly. Brendan and I met for over three hours at his home in Scotland to discuss the issue.
“Despite ample opportunity, he was unable to identify a single instance where the club had obstructed or failed to support him. 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.”
Incredible stuff. Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill are assuming interim charge of the first-team.
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