Brendan Rodgers Resigns As Celtic Manager, O’Neill And Maloney To Lead Team Temporarily
Celtic have announced that Brendan Rodgers has stepped down as manager, bringing his second spell at the club to a close. The resignation comes after Sunday’s 3-1 Scottish Premiership defeat to Hearts, which left Celtic eight points behind the Edinburgh side. “Celtic Football Club can confirm that football manager Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation,” the club said. “Brendan will leave his role with immediate effect. He leaves with our thanks for the role he has played during a period of continued success for the club, and we wish him further success in the future.” The search for a permanent manager is already underway. In the interim, former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill and ex-player Shaun Maloney will oversee first-team affairs. Rodgers, 52, returned to Celtic in June 2023, adding back-to-back league titles to his previous successes in 2017 and 2018. His first spell at the club, from 2016 to 2019, saw him guide Celtic to successive league and cup trebles, including a record 106-point unbeaten season—the first in the Scottish top flight since 1899. Rodgers has also managed Swansea, Liverpool, and Leicester. During his second tenure at Celtic, he secured the Scottish Cup and League Cup alongside consecutive league triumphs. However, this season has been difficult, marked by Celtic’s shocking Champions League exit to Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty, raising questions about the club’s European ambitions.