Post-Rodgers Celtic chaos may lead to the unthinkable

On the loudest nights at Celtic Park, the sound of “You'll Never Walk Alone” is as stirring and defiant as its cousins at Anfield and the Westfalenstadion.

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But for Brendan Rodgers, the noise and fallout following his shock resignation from the Scottish champions will leave the 52-year-old walking a lonely path as he packs his bags and departs Lennoxtown for the second time. A stunning, explosive statement from the Celtic majority shareholder, Dermot Desmond, accused Rodgers of acting in a “divisive, misleading, and self-serving” manner that “contributed to a toxic atmosphere” around the club, torching all ties to a manager who had won 11 trophies across his two spells in Glasgow.

The writing had been on the wall for the Northern Irishman, whose frustration had been clear since the summer. After negotiating the league stage of the Champions League last season and pushing Bayern Munich close in the knockout phase, Rodgers wanted Celtic to act decisively in the transfer market and build on their progress in Europe. Instead, Rodgers believed the Celtic board stalled at the green light, criticising the club’s failure to strengthen before facing Kairat Almaty in the qualifying rounds. “There are only so many ways I can dress up that we don’t have the players here,” he said. Their shock defeat to the champions of Kazakhstan also left Celtic with a reduced budget for the rest of the window.