Celtic coach in Scotland Brendan Rodgers recall how difficult it was when he left the side to take job in England.
Rodgers left Celtic back in 2019 and four years later he returned and managed to find groove once again as he managed to win 3 domestic Cups out of 4.
Even though his side crumbled in their own turf against Bayern Munich in the first leg, Rodgers still believes his troops might come back with victory at Allianz Arena tomorrow evening for the second leg of their Champions League knockout playoff.
During his interview at prime talks Brendan Rodgers was asked why he left Scottish giants at the first place.
He said “I’ve enjoyed every second of it. Clearly when I was here the first time, I had a great spell, and then probably more in my own mind it was football and I’d taken Celtic as far as I could.”
He went on to emphasize how sorry he is for leaving the Scottish side back then in 2019 and revealed that his departure hurt lot of people.
Rodgers said “I felt that I’d taken the club from a football perspective as far as I could, so I felt with my football mind I moved on and went to Leicester.
“But I should’ve known better myself that it was only really when I left that I realised what me leaving meant. Not in an arrogant way, but in the way it hurt people.
“I should’ve known that being a Celtic supporter. But I was more thinking football and the next football move.
“I was very conscious that I had hurt people when I left, so I wanted to make sure that when I came back, I recognised and realised it’s more than that as a Celtic manager.
“It’s people’s lives and the love and passion for Celtic is incredible. It didn’t sit well with me when I left and I certainly didn’t want that as my legacy.”
O’Neill praised Rodgers for the way in which he has handled his return to Celtic – and ultimately won back supporters by delivering victories and trophies.
He said “Brendan leaving was a surprise to a lot of Celtic fans, He’d been very, very successful and the fans had taken him to their hearts. It almost seemed like an abrupt leaving.
“If he’d left at the end of the season with a few more trophies then I think everyone would’ve said well done Brendan.
“Coming back was brave. But the most important thing when you come back, especially if you have doubters, is that you win football matches. And he’s done that.”
BY LUCKY SEANEGO
