Brendan Rodgers, John Kennedy and Jack Lyons join Saudi side Al Qadsiah | OneFootball

Former Celtic trio Brendan Rodgers, John Kennedy and Jack Lyons are back in the game after it was officially confirmed that they had joined Saudi Pro League team Al Qadsiah with Brendan taking over as manager on a lucrative two and a half year deal.

Brendan Rodgers and assistant John Kennedy attend a team training session at the Celtic Training Centre in Lennoxtown. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Appointing Rodgers is a ‘landmark moment’ for Saudi club

Al-Qadsiah is owned by Aramco, the state-owned Saudi oil company, described the appointment as ‘landmark moment’ after sacking previous Spanish manager Michel Gonzalez at the weekend.

James Bisgrove, Al-Qadsiah’s chief executive officer, said as reported by talkSport: “This is a landmark moment for the club. The calibre of his experience and track record of winning reflects our ambition and long-term vision to establish Al Qadsiah as one of Asia’s leading clubs.

“Supported by our board of directors, an exciting and talented playing squad, world class football staff, and passionate supporters, we’re excited to enter this next phase of the club’s development.”

John Kennedy and Stephen McManus sign for Celtic as 14 and 15 years olds in February 1998. John Kennedy became the youngest ever Celt when Kenny Dalglish gave him his debut in April 2000 against Motherwell in a 4-0 win at Celtic Park

An unsatisfactory exit from Celtic

Brendan Rodgers had his resignation offer accepted at the end of October following a summer of discontent where Michael Nicholson the Celtic CEO failed to deliver transfer targets in key positions and failed to replace Kyogo who left in January.

After back-to-back defeats to Dundee and Hearts, Rodgers tried to extend an olive branch to the Celtic Board saving if that wasn’t acceptable he would resign. They quickly accepted the manager – who had won 11 out of 13 trophies as Celtic manager – and followed that up by posting a deranged rant from main powerbroker Dermot Desmond on the official Celtic website.

Celtic’s treatment of John Kennedy nothing short of a disgrace

John Kennedy and Jack Lyons also left their posts and the club’s treatment of Kennedy after being at Celtic since 1998 was nothing short of a disgrace.

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, gestures to fans prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and SK Sturm Graz at Celtic Park on October 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Now Rodgers and two members of his team from Celtic, can now move on look towards pushing Al Qadsiah up the Saudi Pro League table. Rodgers takes the job with Al Qadsiah in fifth place after nine matches. They are 10 points behind the leaders, Al-Nassr.

Best of luck to Brendan, John and Jack at their new club.

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