Brendan Rodgers has attempted to make it up with Celtic fans over his decision to leave the Parkhead club mid-way through last season for the Premier League’s Leicester City in an interview with The Daily Record.
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Rodgers said of his controversial decision to leave:
“It was a really tough call from a personal perspective and a professional one because my relationship with everyone at the club was great form the boardroom to the dressing room but perhaps now people will have a better understanding of why I made the choice to go when I did”.
“We were 27 games into a league campaign. We were clear at the top of the league, we had already won a cup and I felt I was leaving the club in a good state”.
“OK, the timing wasn’t ideal for many people but I felt the club was in a really good place, the players’ mentality, everything around the club was healthy”.
“It gave me the time to prepare for the summer so that we were ready to make a challenge at the start of this season. I think it’s worked out well for both parties”.
Rodgers has Leicester City currently in second place and Jamie Vardy as the league’s top goalscorer so it has certainly worked out well for them.
With hindsight, Celtic haven’t suffered from Rodgers departure with Neil Lennon steadying the ship and getting the Parkhead club over the line to the Treble Treble before being offered the permanent job in the summer following the Scottish Cup success at Hampden.
It seems that some Celtic fans’ hostility towards Rodgers comes from a feeling of betrayal as he had suggested that he was there to stay for the long-term, only to abandon the club at the first decent offer. While he did manage the Hoops for 169 games, winning seven trophies along the way, the former Liverpool coach appears to be a villain in the eyes of many supporters clad in green and white.
He still has a long way to go for Bhoys fans to forgive him, judging by their reaction to his latest interview it may not happen at all.
It’s as well he left, his signings by and large were dreadful (Eddy and Sinclair aside). The board clearly didn’t trust him to use more money trying to rebuild. He would never sign players like Jullien, Abd Elhamed etc. 3 years and he couldn’t find a right back!
— Martin welsh (@accts_cowboy) November 12, 2019
Inherited a good squad, played against two poor ‘Rangers’ managers, poor in Europe, left for money. Not to be trusted.
— Montford Bebb (@MontfordBebb) November 12, 2019
Still desperately trying to justify his departure at a very poor time of the season, and not mentioning he tried to take the whole back room staff with him.
— Vinny Donohoe 🏴🍀🇮🇪 (@VincentDonohoe) November 12, 2019
State of that interview😂
Complete liar won’t just come out and say the wages on offer down in the EPL could get him a bigger pad with a pool in Majorca 👀
— chivs (@CHIVS105) November 12, 2019
He just doesn’t get it.
He will never be forgiven for the timing of his departure.— Garngadbhoy (@shamrockbhoy7) November 12, 2019
1 year later.’Now Leicester fans know why I had to leave Leicester for my boyhood club(insert any club in world football)’
— Tiocfaidh Bolingoli💚 (@chuckycfc) November 12, 2019
Left the club in the lurch on the eve of an important game in hand and cup game later in week against Hibs, could just as easy went other way if not for a late Edouard goal
— Colin Jordan (@ColinBolingoli) November 12, 2019
