My dream came true when Brendan Rodgers resigned from the Celtic managers post on 27th October 2025. The majority share holder Dermot Desmond accused him of being " divisive, misleading and self-serving ". The style of football was probably the worst I've endured since the John Barnes / Kenny Dalglish era. I stated at the time of Rodgers second appointment as Celtic manager that I disagreed with the Boards decision.
Season 2025-2026 - trailing Hearts by 8 points in the league after just 9 matches played was truly shocking. Celtic couldn't buy a goal and trailed the league leaders by an 11 goal difference. Some accused Rodgers of intentional sabotage and working his way out of the club.
He wasted £30 million ( including wages ) on three sub-standard players namely Arne Engels, Auston Trusty and Adam Idah. Rodgers deemed all three players unsuitable options over both legs in our Champions League qualifier against Kiarat Almaty ( seeded 315th in the competition ) - which we lost via the penalty shoot out. Brendan Rodgers cost our club a total of £70 million between transfers / wages and would be Champions League earnings.
That was dire enough but the manager had the audacity to publicly criticise the clubs transfer policies by comparing it to being handed the keys of a Honda Civic and expected to race against a Ferrari. He took no accountability in losing £70 million. We don't play in the English Premier League where all clubs treat money like confetti and face bankruptcy were Sky to pull out of their viewing contract. Celtic receive less than £5 million for winning the Scottish Professional Football League. Rodgers blew £70 million in one season. Think about the financial ramifications to this institute caused directly by Rodgers. No wonder the Board couldn't trust him with any more transfer money.
He also bought several other players then refused to play them. A case in point is Hayato Inamura, whose undoubtedly a capable and versatile Japanese left back / centre back. The player was afforded one faultless league game appearance, played superbly then never seen again. This was despite the fact Carter Vickers is probably out for the entire season with his serious ankle injury. Inamura clearly has the makings of a first class defender but Rodgers inexplicably wasted even more money on the squad.
Step forward the 73 year old Celtic legend Martin O'Neill. He subsequently took interim charge of 7 matches in a 37 day period. He won 6 of those matches including an away win against Feyenoord in the Europa League. He somehow managed to claw back the 8 point deficit to being equal league leaders with Hearts on 32 points with a game in hand plus reduced the goal difference down from 11 to 3.
One of his six match wins included the 2nd November 2025 game against Sevco in the Scottish League Cup Semi Final by beating them 3-1 after extra time. He secured our Cup Final place against St. Mirren on 14th December 2025. Last nights 1-0 league victory over Dundee was his swan song.
Step forward Wilfried Nancy who today officially becomes Celtics latest permanent manager. If the Frenchman can replicate Martin O'Neills success then he's guaranteed to be loved by both the fans and board of directors. It will interesting to see how his differing 3-4-3 formation affects our overall attacking playing style. I wish him all the best in his new role. Welcome to the gold fish bowl of Glasgow where every word Nancy mutters is recorded and dissected.
This is much more than just another football club. For thousands of fans it's literally their sole reason for living. It's the main purpose they work all week simply to follow the team home and away. It's more than a religion it's the reason they breath. It's in our blood. Heres hoping Nancy has the shoulders to carry such a heavy burden of weight as our expectations are monumental. Celtic have 8 million fans registered world-wide. Another Ange Postecoglou would be perfect.
