With Brendan Rodgers’ future still up in the air, a fresh update has dropped regarding the situation and Celtic’s board, courtesy of an ex-CEO.
Rodgers delighted after dramatic Celtic win
The Hoops left it very late to win 2-1 away to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon, with new signing Kelechi Iheanacho scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Speaking after the game, Rodgers couldn’t hide his delight at the result, as Celtic’s winning mentality shone through, like it so often does.
“It’s a great feeling. It’s been a long two weeks, so to get back out on to the football field – and this is always a tough game here – I’m so pleased for the players.“We weren’t quite in the right fluidity in the first-half. We got into some good areas but we weren’t feeding the wide guys well enough. But I thought in the second half we were much better.
“We started the half really well, got in front, and we had control of the game and had other good chances. They made some really good blocks.
“At 1-0 it can always be in the balance, no matter how much dominance you have, and we got punished from a corner and then they had a wee bit of momentum then with not so long to go. But we stuck at it, we defended the box when he had to, we were really strong and had that Celtic spirit.”
New update on Rodgers' Celtic future
Away from a huge win, though, Rodgers’ future is still a key talking point, and speaking to Football Insider, former Aberdeen chief executive officer Keith Wyness claimed that Celtic’s board will cause huge anger among the fanbase if the manager leaves.
“Now, what I’m hearing from my Celtic contacts is that they’re feeling that the board has become a little bit ivory tower in its view these days. They’re older. They’re used to doing things a certain way, they’re not listening to what they need to do to change, they’re not prepared to change, and there isn’t a hunger and a desire anymore to go forward.
“They’re quite happy with the money in the bank. So that’s what frustrates fans more than anything else when they see their prices going up and they have to fund the season tickets, and they don’t see that being transferred into ambition. It isn’t as though the club’s bust, the very opposite, that’s what frustrates people.
“If Brendan goes, then I think the board will see some real anger, obviously depending on who they bring in. Brendan had managed to win back over a lot of the fans and there’s a lot of sympathy for Brendan in this situation.”
There is no doubt that life under Rodgers isn’t perfect right now, and that he isn’t blameless when it comes to some underwhelming performances, but he still feels like the right man for the job for many fans.
As Wyness alludes to, he wasn’t fully supported financially in the summer transfer window, causing plenty of frustration, so he can only work with the squad he has now.
Sacking Rodgers would be a big risk by the board, and if that did happen, or if the Northern Irishman leaves, they will have to nail his successor to please the supporters.
