Celtic supporters remain the only constant, not board, manager or players – us

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The Celtic Star

·09 de setembro de 2025

Celtic supporters remain the only constant, not board, manager or players – us

It is now four days since The Sun ran a remarkable article quoting a senior ‘Celtic insider.’

Celtic Park. Celtic v Livingston, 23 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

The anonymous voice claimed –

Vídeos OneFootball

“What he’s said in public has torn the club apart. On and off the record discussions are creating division throughout the club. He’s the only manager in the club’s history who has repeatedly questioned things. It’s been the same board, same management and same strategy. The club have spent tens of millions.

When Brendan came back, he agreed to the club’s strategy. There are now people inside the club who are deeply unhappy with his words. To make matters worse, these issues appear to be seeping into the performance of the team. It’s like Groundhog Day again.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

That article was a shot fired. A hit piece, with Brendan Rodgers the target. And yet, four days on, Celtic’s official response tells its own story.

A statement was issued. It was designed to placate supporters still raw from another dreadful transfer window and the financial and reputational damage of another European exit. But the statement was tone-deaf, short on accountability, and there was also no mention of the Celtic manager and the tabloid takedown.

No defence of the man paid £3m a year to lead the team. No denial that a ‘Celtic insider’ had gone to a newspaper and stuck a knife in his back less than 24 hours previously.

Had the story been untrue, had the quotes been fabricated or exaggerated, Celtic would surely have challenged it. That they didn’t left supporters with one conclusion.

So where does that leave us?

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Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay applaud during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

It looks increasingly like the board is daring Brendan Rodgers to walk away. Perhaps they believe the relationship is now too fractured to repair. Perhaps they hope to save themselves the cost of a severance package. Perhaps they simply tried to rehash a 2019 play – avert eyes, divert blame – carry on regardless.

Either way, they have left Rodgers to manage a weaker squad, out of the Champions League, with a daunting Europa League campaign ahead—and all while his own employers seemingly undermine him.

Rodgers, for his part, may have three million reasons to remain in the job. But what message does it send when your own board makes your position untenable in public?

Celtic fans protest during Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

To be clear, Rodgers has not been free from criticism. Post-Munich, there were valid complaints. Celtic have yet to defeat theRangers in 2025. Other than that stunning display in Munich, big-game performances and wins have been thin on the ground. The Scottish Cup final loss on penalties defeat to Aberdeen was a bitter pill.

But context matters. After Munich, with little jeopardy left in domestic football, it is perhaps inevitable that motivation dropped. Returning to Scotland after Bayern, when the league was already wrapped up, was always going to be a motivational struggle. The cup final may have been the unfortunate culmination of that – dropping off, then just falling short when they needed to pick things up. Excuses? Maybe. Reasons? Just as valid.

This summer brought new challenges. Kieran Tierney –replaced Greg Taylor ,and Benjamin Nygren – arrived, on paper replacing Nicolas Kuhn. But in truth only those two genuine first-team starters were added.

Benjamin Nygren celebrates scoring during Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Adam Idah was sold. Shin Yamada it could be argued was his replacement. £7m in, £1.2m out. Both could be considered back-ups for a main Celtic striker, a talisman. Kyogo having left in January window for £10m, was replaced after the summer window closed, by a free transfer.

Rodgers comments that had everyone remained, he needed three players to progress in Europe were ambitions not matched in the boardroom.

Summer ‘23 projects who failed were moved on, replaced by new projects, and the tell-tale loans and short-term contracts arrived for a season of drift as a manager runs down his contract.

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Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The Scottish Cup Final defeat, born through a lack of creativity were ignored. A heavy defeat to Ajax in pre-season should have been another warning sign that the squad was light. It wasn’t heeded.

Rodgers warned about the loss of goals and assists not being replaced. He wasn’t wrong.

Against St Mirren, it showed. A narrow late win, followed by a welcome victory at Pittodrie, then a solid win over Livingston, then a goalless draw at Ibrox. If you are being kind you could say Pittodrie was a good performance, but in all honesty, all the games showed signs of a squad short of the required creativity, goals and quality in attack.

Daizen Maeda of Celtic reacts to missing an opportunity Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug just 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

And there was also Kairat. Two goalless draws, an exit that extinguished Champions League dreams in Kazakhstan. A brutal reminder that the manager’s concerns were real. Should he still have won? In the eyes of many the answer would be yes. For others there were mitigating factors to consider.

Now it has become clear – Rodgers has been managing a disrupted dressing room. Some players wanted out—Daizen Maeda, Yang, Idah, there are plenty of rumours of more besides, of promises made and promises reneged. Even the captain broke cover to admit the squad needed help. That was another warning.

Rodgers has been left to patch things up, bolster the projects by dipping into his contact book—signing familiar faces when the club fails to get deals over the line, just as he had to with a goalkeeper the summer before.

Brendan Rodgers manager of Celtic Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 Aug 2025Almaty Almaty Central Stadium Kazakhstan Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

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And yet, despite the chaos, Rodgers has delivered in his time back at Celtic. Four trophies in his second spell, including two league titles. Champions League group stage progress. A home unbeaten record in Europe for the first time in over a decade, after he broke a decade long wait for a Champions League win on home soil the previous season. A knockout tie against Bayern Munich where Celtic were a minute from forcing extra time.

That’s why this summer hurts so much. We had become accustomed to European failure. We downsized ambitions. There were enough amongst us happy enough with domestic success. Until we weren’t. Until a manager showed us what we were missing and told us with the right backing, three more quality players, he could offer us even more. Our European credibility was returning; it felt like the heat of the sun on your face after a long cold winter.

Brendan Rodgers at Ibrox. theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Rodgers has also developed talent and added value. Matt O’Riley bought for £1.5m, sold for £25m. Nicolas Kühn, value multiplied fivefold. What is Daizen worth now? More than prior to the manager’s return it could be suggested. Income from Europe and player sales has left Celtic on course for record turnover.

These achievements should be celebrated. Instead, they’ve been overshadowed by the board’s inability to perform in the modern transfer market, or perhaps an unwillingness to do so for this manager. Cautious, or ambitionless? It’s hard not to conclude the latter.

So where did it all break down? Was it the sale of Kyogo without replacement in January? Was it when Rodgers admitted he needed just three players to kick Celtic on in Europe—only to watch his squad weakened instead? Did the dressing room start to doubt whether the board shared the manager’s ambition?

Brendan Rodgers at Ibrox. theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

God only knows. But what we do know is this – the tabloid briefing against Rodgers won’t have helped with dressing room harmony, the manager appears undermined, and the support and the club custodians are now facing off.

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Supporters are responding the way we did in the 90s – ‘Sack the board.’ The message is everywhere. But there was always a first half to that slogan – ‘Back the team’ – and that’s where our focus has to be. Starting at Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Because while the board torches relationships and credibility, while Rodgers is thrown under the bus as cover for their downsizing, the team still needs us.

This league campaign could be the tightest in years, because while we’ve dropped back towards the pack, the pack have strengthened, and may close the gap still further.

Brendan Rodgers arrives at Ibrox. theRangers v Celtic,31 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Europa League progression is vital to protect Scotland’s coefficient and Celtic’s European future. If we don’t want coefficient collapse in two years’ time, Celtic may even need to reach a Europa League semi-final—perhaps even win it. That is the mammoth scale of the challenge.

So yes, the calls for the board to go are essential if Celtic are ever to modernise. But the support cannot lose sight of our players, and we won’t. They are caught between a manager fighting to keep control and a boardroom accused of being determined to sabotage him.

Rodgers’ plan was to add to the group with quality, build togetherness, foster belief, to create good vibrations within the squad. The Sun article and the board’s subsequent silence have pushed that harmony to the cliff edge.

Now it falls to us—the supporters.

It is going to take the support of all of us to ensure our job is to drag them back from the edge, rather than catch them when they fall. To keep the season alive, to back the team, and the manager, even as we condemn those in the boardroom.

The Celtic Board. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

Because while the custodian are playing politics, Celtic still have trophies to win, Europe to fight for, and pride to restore. And the supporters remain the only constant. Always have. Always will.

It’s our club and it always will be.

Niall J

Celtic in the Eighties – Out Now!…

Celtic in the Eighties by the late, great David Potter is out now on Celtic Star Books. Celtic in the Eighties is now available in the Celtic superstore and all other club shops. And don’t forget that you can still purchase your copy directly from Celticstarbooks.com for same day postage.