🔗 Share this article

Brendan Rodgers has stepped down from his role as the club's manager, with Martin O'Neill agreeing to a short-term comeback.

The 52-year-old, that came back for a second stint at the club in 2023, won successive titles, adding to his previous title triumphs from 2017 and 2018.

However, the former Liverpool FC and Leicester boss departs with the champions trailing Hearts by 8 points after 9 games of the this campaign.

A team statement disclosed that Rodgers tendered his resignation, which was approved with instant effect.

The majority shareholder, Celtic's largest investor, then added a blistering statement of his own, accusing Rodgers of disruptive, misleading, and self-interested behavior.

Martin O'Neill, seventy-three, coached the team from 2000 to 2005, winning 3 Scottish top-flight championships, 3 Scottish Cup titles, and a League Cup.

O'Neill will be joined by former player Maloney, who had 2 periods as a player with Celtic and has coaching experience with Hibernian and Wigan Athletic.

The outgoing manager agreed a three-year contract on his return and consistently stressed that he would fulfill the agreement, since his prior departure in 2019 had created so much bitterness.

When quizzed about renewing that agreement in last August, he maintained there had been no formal offer.

But, the shareholder has now given his side of events, saying the team were keen to retain the manager on past the end of this campaign to confirm the team's complete support and future dedication to him.

The Irish executive continued to assert that Rodgers' assertion that no proposal had been made was just false.

This campaign has unfolded against a backdrop of anti-board demonstrations at the stadium, and Desmond accused the manager of contributing to a negative atmosphere.

Another feature in the early months of this season was Rodgers' apparent dismay over transfer business, with multiple comments to underwhelming signings over the summer.

Commenting after the 2-0 loss at Dundee on 19 October, he said: There's no way you'll go into a race and be handed the keys to a standard car and tell 'I want you to perform it like a Ferrari'. It's not likely to occur.

But the shareholder wrote: Each player acquired and each individual transferred during his time was completed so with Brendan's complete knowledge, consent, and endorsement. Every implication otherwise is completely incorrect.

What has failed lately was not due to our structure or system, but to one person's wish for self-preservation at the expense of everyone else.