The landscape of football is changing, and this season has been the perfect example of it across British football.
Celtic, Manchester United and Chelsea have all parted ways with their coaches in recent months, and it’s mainly down to what has been happening off the pitch.
Brendan Rodgers left Celtic in October, while Enzo Maresca departed Chelsea at the start of January, and Ruben Amorim was booted out of Manchester United days later.
They all have one thing in common, and that’s issues behind the scenes, with Rodgers leaving Celtic with a parting gift from Dermot Desmond, and that was a verbal putdown, which was mentioned by Roy Keane.
- READ MORE: Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior says ex-Celtic boss ‘really affected’ him in first interview
Do you think Dermot Desmond would really consider selling his Celtic shares?
Roy Keane mentions Brendan Rodgers and Celtic after Chelsea and Manchester United sackings
The Overlap panel were discussing the modern-day relationship between board members and the man in the dugout.
In this case, Amorim and Maresca aimed subtle digs at those higher up in their press conferences, clearly unhappy about something, and then they are out the door before you know it.
Keane stated that ‘power is changing’, and the directors of football, or whatever job title you want to give them, are now ‘carrying a lot of power.’
That’s when Jamie Carragher butted in and stated that he hopes Amorim wasn’t sacked because of an ‘argument’ with someone in the Old Trafford boardroom.
Keane, who has been clearly keeping an eye on what has been happening at Celtic Park this term, mentioned the way Rodgers left Glasgow.
Celtic supporters do not usually hear from Desmond, but back in October, he didn’t hold back and called out Rodgers in the most brutal of fashions.
That seemingly hasn’t gone down well with Keane, who thinks it’s an ‘issue’ amid the changing landscape of relationships between the manager/coach and those in suits.
Keane: “The power is changing for managers now or coaches. These directors of football are carrying a lot of power, so you talk about managing up.
“Imagine you are the manager or a coach, and you have managed a good few hundred games. You are speaking to somebody above you, and they would be dictating what players could be coming in, and you are hoping he is going to be a help to you instead of a hindrance. And it’s hard for a manager.”
Carragher: “You know them clashes. That’s why I am going to go back to Amorim and Maresca.
“Now, I was critical of both managers because I don’t like people, in public, arguing with each other. A football club is like your family; we all have problems, but you keep them in-house.
“That’s me thinking about (Jason) Wilcox (director of football at Manchester United) and Amorim. I hope they didn’t sack him because they had an argument. I hope they sacked him on the back of the results. I was critical of Maresca coming out and all of those cryptic comments. I don’t like that.
“But if you are a sporting director, and you want to have top managers. We are talking about those big beast managers we have had in the past and the last few years. There is going to be friction.”
Keane: “In the last few months, if you look at Celtic. Look at when Brendan leaves Celtic. I know when managers are leaving, the clubs are making statements about managers. My goodness. That is the issue.”
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
