News that Brendan Rodgers has been given permission to speak to Leicester City about their managerial vacancy has come as a devastating blow to the Celtic support.
With seven successive trophies secured the hoops are just three months away from a Treble Treble but now appear to be searching for a caretaker manager.
The first fault lines in the relationship between manager and boardroom appeared in August as he went into the Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens without ant reinforcements from last season.
Odsonne Edouard had his deal made permanent but Stuart Armstrong and Patrick Roberts had left with John McGinn about to join Aston Villa.
The merits of McGinn signing can be debated but it seems obvious that he was wanted by the manager that had turned Armstrong into an £8m player.
As the transfer window closed Emilio Izaguirre, Youssouf Mulumbu and loan deal Filip Benkovic arrived. Rodgers was left exposed as Moussa Dembele was sold, a £20m transfer surplus had been generated with the squad seriously weakened.
By the November AGM a united front was put on show but the January transfer dealings told their own story. A host of loan deals, £2m spent on Bayo from the Slovakian deal and Maryan Shved signed then sent back to the Ukraine on loan. Rodgers commented on a million wingers when first asked about Shved.
The precise timing of the move is horrendous but it has always been only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.
Celtic fans and shareholders can now see how this very well run club react, experiences over the last 12 months suggest more miss than hit as they attempt to replace the man that filled the stands, trophy room, accounts and bonuses all round.
