Peter Martin on the end of Brendan Rodgers’ turbulent second spell at Celtic
Brendan Rodgers walks away, bringing to an end a turbulent second spell as Celtic manager — one marked by failure, mistruths, and questions over who is to blame — all left hanging in the air for Celtic fans to digest and discuss on their way to work on Tuesday morning.
When I asked him after Sunday’s defeat to Hearts if it was time for him to take responsibility for his side’s failures on the park, I could see him visibly prickle with displeasure that someone had the audacity to finally question when he was going to take responsibility for the mess Celtic are in.
“I’ve always taken responsibility. There’s never been a time that I haven’t. Is there a time? There’s always a time. When you are the manager of Celtic, you are responsible for results.”
Just over 24 hours later, he finally took responsibility for his failings on the park — and decided to walk.
A Surprise Exit
I have to be honest with you and say Brendan caught me by surprise by taking the coward’s way out. A better man stays and tries to sort out the mess without blaming everyone else for his team’s ineptitude on the park.
When the going gets tough, Brendan gets going — but usually out the door to suit Brendan. He did it in his first stint when he wasn’t getting his own way and, in Groundhog Day 2025, he’s done it again.
He should never have been brought back in the first place, but I’ll get to the self-preservation board shortly — let’s stick with the man driving the Honda Civic for the moment.
When the Cracks Appeared
The cracks almost always appear in year three of his tenure. But if you want a timeline — or indeed a line in the sand — as to the exact moment Brendan started to throw the dummy out of the pram, it happened right after the 12th February defeat to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the knockout phase of the new Champions League format.
At that point, I was firmly in the manager’s camp after a performance that was breathtaking and disappointing in equal measure.
The team were magnificent against the German giants, but the backdrop to that brilliant football was all the more remarkable when you consider this board were up to their old tricks less than two weeks before — selling the club’s top striker, Kyogo, with no replacement for the biggest game in the club’s history since 2003.
Hung Out to Dry
Make no mistake about it — Celtic knocking Bayern Munich out of Europe’s biggest tournament to reach the next phase of the Champions League would have been seismic. But the manager was hung out to dry by a board well-versed in undermining and quashing the dreams and ambitions of the support — favouring prudence and penny-pinching at a time when they had millions to burn in the bank.
The board should have been run out of town right there and then. The same culprits still had their hands on the till. Their blueprint and narrative are always about a ceiling limit for this club — never daring to dream.
“If this board had been in charge in 1967, they’d have found a way to derail Jock Stein’s dream of pure, inventive football all the way to Lisbon.”
Decline and Denial
Since that night in Germany, Brendan failed to win a big game of note all the way to his departure on 27th October.
The league was always in the bag because Rangers had their own problems across the city — but the Ibrox outfit still managed to inflict defeat on Celtic with interim boss Barry Ferguson at Celtic Park.
From there, a poor Rangers team still managed a 1–1 draw at Ibrox in May before Brendan’s boys succumbed to a mediocre Aberdeen side in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on 24th May.
By now, the standard of football had reverted to the same style as Brendan’s last stint — slow, predictable and uninspiring. Surely the summer would bring a sea change, where Brendan could rebuild and deliver a stronger side for the undoubted challenge of Rangers and the riches of Champions League football?
Not a chance!
The Board’s Blueprint of Blame
The board, controlled by Dermot and backed by his trusty generals, followed their blueprint of “projects,” “ones for the future,” and inexplicable purchases of players not fit to wear the Celtic jersey.
I don’t believe for one minute that Brendan identified all the players Celtic signed in that summer window — despite what Dermot Desmond said in his savage statement about the manager after his departure.
This arrogant board, under pressure from disgruntled supporters, has come out all guns blazing — and amazingly it is the majority shareholder who has fired all the bullets of blame towards Brendan, while taking absolutely no responsibility for their own failings.
Brendan was right in one after-match interview: “managers go before under-fire boards.”
A Season to Forget
Season 2025–26 was as flat as any I’ve known for Celtic fans preparing for a new domestic campaign and dreaming of brilliant European trips in the Champions League.
They were defeated by a pub team in Kairat Almaty, missing out on lucrative Champions League qualification. From there, Brendan moved into overdrive with thinly veiled swipes at the board in countless press conferences — before and after every game you care to mention.
His team selections reflected his displeasure at not getting what he wanted in the transfer window. Suddenly, players like Arne Engels, Auston Trusty, Paulo Bernardo and even Adam Idah were not good enough for starting places.
Then came the debacle with Daizen Maeda, as news emerged, he’d been promised a move that somehow collapsed at the last minute. Throw in Idah being punted with no credible replacement before the window closed, and suddenly the minor cracks became major fault lines in the relationship between the board and Rodgers.
The Endgame
Brendan Rodgers is to blame for the turgid football the fans have been served up this season. His team selections at times have been baffling — and there’s no excuse for losing to teams like Kairat Almaty and Dundee or drawing with one of the worst Rangers sides in decades.
They were outplayed by a Motherwell side put together for pennies compared to the riches on offer to Brendan and finally outfought by a Hearts team that had six players in their starting line-up who were fighting relegation battles last season.
Brendan leaves Celtic Football Club a failure.
The Celtic board will stay on, and they will not be moved by their support — no matter how many banners or bouncy balls they take to matches. So, what’s the remedy in the short term to soften the blow of Brendan’s departure?
Back to the Future
From ‘Groundhog Day’, we now move to ‘Back to the Future’, as Martin O’Neill comes in to steady the ship.
Ironically, another manager who suffered at the hands of this board — after believing he could take the 2003 side to greater heights only to be reined in once again by the accountant.
