Celtic have parted company with manager Brendan Rodgers, who resigned on Monday night amid a public fallout with majority shareholder Dermot Desmond, and have turned to Martin O’Neill to take interim charge, 20 years after his celebrated first spell in Glasgow, BBC Sport reports.
The shock announcement came after a bruising 3–1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle, leaving the reigning Scottish Premiership champions eight points adrift of the early leaders. Rodgers’ departure follows weeks of tension over transfers, results, and the club’s internal direction.
In an extraordinary statement, Desmond accused Rodgers of “divisive, misleading, and self-serving” behaviour, directly contradicting the manager’s recent claims that he had not been offered a contract extension. Desmond insisted the club had backed Rodgers “at every stage,” citing record transfer investment and full autonomy over football matters.
“His words and actions have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club,” Desmond added. “What has failed recently was not our structure, but one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others.”
Rodgers’ second stint at Celtic began in 2023, yielding two league titles and a Scottish Cup, yet his tenure unravelled amid disappointing European results and growing fan unrest.
In a dramatic twist, O’Neill, 73, returns to the Celtic dugout, assisted by Shaun Maloney. O’Neill, who guided the club to three league titles, three Scottish Cups, and a UEFA Cup final between 2000 and 2005, has not managed since leaving Nottingham Forest in 2019.
Earlier on Monday, O’Neill had been tipping Hearts for the title, describing them as “determined and confident” while calling Rangers “no threat whatsoever.”
GFN | Finn Entwistle
