Wilson’s claim completely contradicts detailed Desmond statement

Ten months after his resignation Brian Wilson has claimed that the resignation of Brendan Rodgers initiated a period of instability.

With the current issues at Celtic it doesn’t reflect well on the Board and CEO that the interim Chairman has made such a claim.

Rodgers joined Celtic on a 36 month contract in June 2023. With eight months left of it he resigned.

At the very least Celtic should have been prepared for a change of manager in June 2026.

Rodgers’ predecessor Ange Postecoglou was in the job for 24 months. He was on a 12 month rolling contract.

A club with a manager in that situation will always be aware of the need for successor.

It took Celtic three weeks to replace Postecoglou. Yet the resignation of Rodgers created a period of instability.

In the 2026 Annual Report Wilson states:

The events of the past 12 months have been dramatic, sometimes joyful and at other points deeply frustrating. The departure of Brendan Rodgers was an unanticipated event which initiated a period of instability.

On 27th October 2025 Desmond delivered a very detailed timeline of contract discussions with Rodgers over a 10 month spell. Desmond clearly had concerns over how long Rodgers was going to remain at the club.

When we brought Brendan back to Celtic two years ago, it was done with complete trust and belief in his ability to lead the club into a new era of sustained success. Unfortunately, his conduct and communication in recent months have not reflected that trust.

In June, both Michael Nicholson and I expressed to Brendan that we were keen to offer him a contract extension, to reaffirm the club’s full backing and long-term commitment to him. He said he would need to think about it and revert. Yet in subsequent press conferences, Brendan implied that the club had made no commitment to offer him a contract. That was simply untrue.

We met with Brendan regularly, including in December last year and at the start of the summer, with regular dialogue in between, to discuss and agree our collective strategy, priorities, and approach. Every player signed and every player sold during his tenure was done so with Brendan’s full knowledge, approval, and endorsement. Any insinuation otherwise is absolutely false.

His later public statements about transfers and club operations came entirely out of the blue. At no point prior to those remarks had he raised any such concerns with me, Michael, or any member of the Board or executive team. In reality, he was given final say over all football matters and was consistently backed in the recruitment process — including record investment in players he personally identified and approved.

When his comments were made publicly, I sought to address them directly. Brendan and I met for over three hours at his home in Scotland to discuss the issue. Despite ample opportunity, he was unable to identify a single instance where the club had obstructed or failed to support him. The facts did not match his public narrative.

Desmond was clearly well aware of issues with Rodgers and his contract which ran until June 2026.

Presumably the billionaire businessman doesn’t often give up three hours of his time for house visits to Scotland.

WILSON IN THE DARK ABOUT RODGERS CONTRACT RUN DOWN?

Despite all of that being public knowledge on the Celtic website Wilson is claiming that the club was taken by surprise by Rodgers’ sudden departure.

Throughout 2025 Wilson was a Non Executive Director, a role he had held for 20 years.

Presumably there were monthly board meetings.

As a NED Wilson’s job was to ensure best practice in the running of the company.

Again, presumably that would involve applying checks and balances. Asking questions about key employees, big decisions such as the future of the manager.

With the Champions League success delivered by Rodgers during the 24/25 season a new contract should have been a priority.

When a player enters the final year of their contract it is presumed that they are looking to move elsewhere. The same applies to managers.

RODGERS- BEYOND THE HALFWAY POINT

By the time Celtic played YB Bern and Aston Villa in January 2025 Rodgers had passed the halfway mark in his contract.

Concerns should have been raised. Again, that word presumably, Desmond informed his fellow directors of the stalemate in contract talks with the manager.

As a PLC surely Celtic always have candidates in mind to succeed in key positions.

Whether that is the first team manager, CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Professional Pathway Manager or Head Analyst.

The irony of all this is that there is clearly no forward/ succession planning at Celtic.

You only need to look at Wilson’s own role. He is entering his 10th month as Interim Chairman.

There appears to have been no planning for the possibility of Chairman Lawwell resigning.

Many football clubs have a Vice-Chairman ready to step up or will promote a current Director.

By blaming Rodgers for instability 11 months after his departure Wilson is highlighting the problems inside Celtic. The lack of forward planning.

In February 2019 and February 2021 Celtic lost managers in mid season.

The same happened in October 2025 yet Celtic are still highlighting it as disruptive.

With this recurring issue actions should be taken.

Appointing a credible Director of Football would be a start.

Someone with a body of work in that role, with contacts at a good level in the game.

Not a sweet talking, self styled Doctor of Football whose career high point was managing MK Dons.