Rodgers gives firm defence against big claim

According to some Brendan Rodgers left Celtic in the lurch, halfway through the season to join Leicester.

There has been plenty of revisionism in recent weeks with facts becoming something of a casualty.

When the Irishman left for Leicester on February 26 Celtic were facing two very tough fixtures within the space of a week. Hearts at Tynecastle in the SPFL followed by Hibs at Easter Road in a Scottish Cup quarter-final.

Had Celtic lost those matches the pressure would have been ramped up, with two Glasgow derbies still to be played the SPFL title was far from assured although Neil Lennon did get a better handover than Ange Postecoglou walked into.

Rodgers knows how to turn on the charm but there is often a steely message underneath as he gets his point across.

Leaving Celtic in the lurch is one issue as he told The Scotsman:

Someone said about leaving in the lurch and I said, it’s some lurch.

We were eight points ahead in the league with only 11 games remaining – it was hardly ‘halfway’ as has been stated – and had won the League Cup. That’s the emotion of it, it was a sad time because it happened quickly and people were hurt. I get that.

I never get too emotional with words but of course when it’s this club and some of the supporters, naturally it hurts, but I’m a professional and in our job, unfortunately you can love a club and be with a club… if you look at Ange and what he did here for a couple of years, a fantastic job.

The 2018/19 treble was completed under Neil Lennon but defeat to Cluj at the start of the following season was perhaps the first sign that things were about to take a downturn with the 2019/20 treble completed halfway through the disastrous 2020/21 season.