‘Let’s be honest’…Stephen McGowan wouldn’t be surprised if Brendan Rodgers repeated history at Celtic

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Another domestic Treble is on, but one thing still remains unclear. Will Brendan Rodgers be at Celtic next season?

The Celtic manager’s future has dominated headlines in recent weeks, with many unsure if he will commit to staying at Parkhead.

Stiliyan Petrov has urged Celtic to keep Rodgers at the club whilst pundit Hugh Keevins says the Northern Irishman is ‘vitally important’ to everything the side does.

A decision will have to be made sooner rather than later but journalist Stephen McGowan has posited an interesting theory that certainly leaves food for thought.

• READ MORE: Chris Sutton saddened by what will happen at Celtic in the summer, as Brendan Rodgers vows to ‘fight’

Stephen McGowan wouldn’t be surprised if Brendan Rodgers left again

When he was appointed for a second time in 2023, Rodgers told his critics that he would vow to stay until the end of his contract in Glasgow – unless he was sacked.

Next season will mark his third season in charge of the Hoops and as it stands, he has no plans to leave, but journalist McGowan wouldn’t be surprised to see him exit earlier than expected.

During an appearance on Graham Spiers’ PressBox podcast, he said: “I don’t think it’s out of the question. I mean, I speak to colleagues who are convinced that he’s off-scale, that he’ll go next summer.

“Let’s be honest, that will be five and a half years by that point at one club.

“That’s quite a long time, quite a long shelf life for a Celtic arrangers manager, even over two spells.

“He might feel he can’t do a great deal more. Only he can answer that.”

Brendan Rodgers can’t afford to break promise for a second time

Five-and-a-half years is a long time for any Celtic manager in the current footballing climate.

Since the turn of the century, Martin O’Neill is the only one of those to have taken charge of the Bhoys for longer than four years.

But, Rodgers is in a sticky position. When he left for Leicester City in 2023, he was on the verge of a domestic Treble Treble but abandoned it just when it was within touching distance.

Despite being one of Celtic’s most successful managers of all time, his reputation still hasn’t fully recovered.

As a boyhood fan, he’d want to remain on good terms with the support and build that relationship. If he were to leave early again, he would only be repeating what he did six years ago.