Brendan Rodgers reveals he had Celtic exit plan in place before Leicester move

Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he was already planning on leaving Celtic at the conclusion of the 2018/19 season before Leicester pinched him in the February. Rodgers left for the Premier League as Celtic faced a trip to Tynecastle to face Hearts. The Irishman remarked that he had made the decision to leave the club over the course of the season but looks back fondly at his time in Glasgow.

Speaking to The Belfast Telegraph, Rodgers stated that his feeling towards Celtic will never change but he understands why there was so much hurt attached to his depature.

“The original plan was to stay until the end of the season but then it changes and I made the decision to leave Celtic in what I felt was a really strong position.

“Obviously there was a lot said within Celtic, outside of Celtic and media but I’ll never let that ever diminish the amazing time I had there because for me it is all about the feeling.

“I understand Celtic people and supporters when I left. I totally get that because a loss of anything there is always sadness and anger and I totally get that and how I left it was the probably the shock element of it.

“I look back and think more of the amazing time I had not just on the pitch but off the pitch and the support I had and the friends we made.

“Living in Glasgow was an amazing experience. We travel up when we can and the experience will never be tainted by anything else.”

26th November 2017, Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland; Scottish League Cup Final, Motherwell versus Celtic; Brendan Rodgers with the trophy

Arguably Rodgers’ decision lead to Neil Lennon’s second spell coming about as the Celtic hierarchy were forced to scramble to find a replacement that would be able to step into the breach and help Celtic towards the Treble Treble.

The ex-Liverpool manager won seven trophies in a row, an Invincible Treble, a 69-game unbeaten run and numerous other successes before being replaced by Lennon when he left for Leicester in February 2019. Supporters will likely recognise how impressive Rodgers’ time at the club was and a lot of people realised that there were issues at a boardroom level that lead to his departure, which was emphasised by the off-field mess of last season.

Rodgers has enjoyed success with Leicester, finishing fifth twice and winning an FA Cup; however, he will likely be unable to match the intensity of the Celtic job wherever he goes. It is a case of what might have been with Rodgers and 10IAR but the reasons for Rodgers switching from Glasgow appeared to crop up last year.

Best of luck to Rodgers. Celtic have moved on and found an excellent manager in Ange, who is not eyeing the exit door.

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About Author

Born just as Celtic were stopping the Ten, Lubo98 follows Celtic home and away and helps run his local Celtic Supporters Club. He goes to all the games and is a Law Graduate. Has a particular fondness for Tom Rogic among the current Celts and both Lubo and Henrik form his earliest Celtic memories.

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