Celtic FC’s New Boss Already On The Back Foot For Past Sins

It’s not often a new Celtic manager is publicly disowned by the club’s hardcore support before their reign has even begun.

But as fan group the Green Brigade pointed out, the re-appointment of Brendan Rodgers is no ordinary hire.

This is the man who in 2019 was on course to win a historic tenth Scottish Premier League title in a row and chose to bail for mid-table English outfit Leicester City.

The sense of betrayal was felt deeply in Glasgow and articulated most succinctly in a banner raised by the Green Brigade in Celtic Park after Rodgers departed.

“You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt, always a fraud,” it read.

Demonstrating that, while much water has passed along the Clyde since then, the fan’s stance was still the same the group posted an image of the banner on social media in the wake of Rodgers’s re-hiring.

In fairness to the Northern Irishman, he was willing to acknowledge this frustration and tackled the reverence to the banner head-on.

“I was aware of that,” he told the media, “for me, I love the club and the supporters and you will have critics.

“With the greatest respect, I don’t think winning a club the FA Cup for the first time in their history was mediocre, or taking them into Europe when they’d never been and having three of the best four finishes in the league. I don’t think it’s mediocre but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

“I know there are enough supporters who respect the work I did but I wanted to come back to finish the work I’d started here. Over the four years I was away I bumped into a lot of Celtic supporters who were positive at the time.

“You are never going to please everyone. When I was here I had critics, even when we won seven out of seven. I would expect that coming back again. But it doesn’t affect me.”

Whilst he was willing to accept the viewpoint, there was no sense Rodgers would be groveling for acceptance.

Perhaps aware of the fickle way fans can turn on a beloved boss, he was quick to point out that former players were not subject to the same demands.

“You make a decision in your life, we all make decisions. I’ve never regretted a decision I’ve made, what I regret is the hurt,” Rodgers added.

“I knew people were hurt at that time, it was a sad moment. I had family, close friends and it absolutely knocked them. What that then does to other supporters, I totally understand that. But these are the decisions you make as a professional.

“I’m pretty sure Virgil van Dijk didn’t apologize when he left, or [Victor] Wanyama, or Henrik [Larsson] or Kieran Tierney. That doesn’t mean we love the club less, it’s a professional judgment you make.”

But unlike former players, many of whom have departed for clubs Celtic fans consider well below their status, Rodgers’s fortunes in his second stint in charge are reliant on keeping the fans onside.

Before a ball has even been kicked Rodgers has it all to prove, a strong start is essential if he is to keep the discontented elements of the fanbase at bay and, frankly, anything less than the league title would put his job at risk.

Soccer fans’ memories get a whole lot shorter when they see trophies being lifted and if Rodgers can replicate the success of his first stint in charge then by the end of his three-year contract the feelings of betrayal may well have melted into the background.

Even so, Rodgers can understand why the Celtic support might hold back on a man they feel abandoned them so brutally.

To address those concerns, he offered the promise that he’d be seeing out his contract unless he was fired.

“Hopefully in time, I can give you that feeling I gave you the first time. I don’t expect anything, but if I get that support, great,” he told them.

“For those who doubt, I’ve had that all my career so I will continue to work hard and hopefully a team that plays with the commitment people will enjoy. It will just take time.

“I’ve signed for three years and I guarantee I’ll be here for three years unless I get ‘emptied’ before that, as they say up here.”

If we are being cynical it’s easier for Rodgers to make such a commitment this time around. The part of his resume he excluded from mentioning in response to the Green Brigade’s banner post was that he was fired by Leicester City with it bound for relegation.

He is likely to be in distinctly less high demand by Premier League clubs looking for a new coach, a point the Celtic fans will be all too aware of.

It is poised to be an interesting new season in Scotland with both Old Firm clubs electing to choose coaches with previous connections.

Michael Beale was brought in to Rangers because of his role in helping the club claim its last SPL crown, the title which famously prevented the tenth-in-a-row Rodgers was seeking before he left.

The stakes in the battle between the Old Firm giants are always feverishly high, but with the additional narrative of two returning heroes looking to recapture the success they previously enjoyed that race will be even more intoxicating.