The infamous story about someone at Celtic briefing against Brendan Rodgers in the press raises its head again today.
The Scottish Sun claimed they spoke to a ‘senior’ figure at Celtic claiming that Brendan Rodgers was causing division at the club and was trying to work his ticket out of Glasgow.
The Celtic manager branded the person in question as ‘cowardly’ and the resulting article caused fan fury amongst the Parkhead support.
Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson brushed the article aside and said the claim was ‘unsubstantiated’ and that the matter was ‘closed’.
Since then, we asked the journalist who wrote the article, Roger Hannah, what he thought of the Celtic board’s response but have failed to receive an answer.
Hannah has now broken his silence and confirmed whether or not anyone from Celtic, including Rodgers, had contacted him about his article.
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Roger Hannah stands by Celtic article after Michael Nicholson’s ‘unsubstantiated’ claim
Now with Nicholson claiming the story about the Celtic manager is ‘unsubstantiated’, that puts Hannah’s source and article under serious scrutiny.
When asked if he stood by the article on Superscoreboard [1h 19 30s], Hannah said, “Yes.
“I know the point you’re trying to make. Since the article came out, I think the article came out, September the 5th or 6th, I believe, Brendan spoke afterwards and then I believe the following week he was asked a supplementary question to it and he said, it’s done or it’s closed or something like that.
Gordon Duncan: “Oh, missed that, did he?”
Hannah: “Yeah.”
Duncan: “So after the cowardly stuff.”
Hannah: “The following Friday, he was asked a question at his press conference, he said the matter was closed or done, I think was the word they used.
“Now, I’ve only seen the statement that the Celtic Fans Collective put out yesterday with regard to the meeting on Monday with some of the directors. And the Celtic Fans Collective said that when Michael Nicholson, the chief exec, was asked about it on Monday, he also said that the matter was done.
“I think he used the same word as Brendan.”
Hannah confirms if Celtic or Brendan Rodgers have been in contact
So with Hannah claiming his article is correct and Celtic saying otherwise, surely someone at the club or even Rodgers would have contacted the journalist about it?
Hannah continued, “So you know, I write a story at the start of September. We’re now at the start of October. It’s more than a month, about five weeks ago or something, Gordon.
“I’m assuming, and I stand to be corrected here, Gordon, because I’m only looking at it from the outside.
“I’m assuming that internal conversations have taken place at Celtic between then and now, and what was viewed as an issue then, is now no longer an issue.
“In my mind, I get the feeling that if there were those tensions at the time, or questions being asked at the time, I get the impression and I’m only going in the answers that have been given by both Brendan Rodgers and Michael Nicholson, that perhaps there have been internal conversations since then and issues have been resolved and doubts have been satisfied, if you like, and what was a situation then is no longer a situation, if you see what I mean, Gordon.”
Duncan: “Would Brendan Rodgers call you up when that story comes out and ask you about it?
Hannah: “No.”
Duncan: “Anyone dispute it?”
Hannah: “Since the story’s been…? No.”
Duncan: “Interesting.”
You can watch the whole exchange, started by a Celtic fan, below:
It’s quite a rebuttal from Hannah and his version of events piles more pressure on Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson and the Parkhead hierarchy once again.
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