Ange Postecoglou has been urged to make a shock return to management at his former club by Chris Sutton after being brutally axed by Nottingham Forest. Celtic fans were left stunned after Brendan Rodgers sensationally quit his post after just nine games into the season. The Northern Irishman, who returned for a second spell at Celtic Park in June 2023, stepped down with immediate effect following Sunday's 3-1 defeat against Hearts, which sees them trailing the leaders by eight points in the Premiership table.
GettyChaos at Celtic after Rodger's departure
Rodgers’ resignation was confirmed in a late-night statement by Celtic, bringing an end to a turbulent period marked by mounting criticism and disappointing results. In their official statement, Celtic said: "Celtic Football Club can confirm that football manager Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation. It has been accepted by the Club and Brendan will leave his role with immediate effect. The Club appreciates Brendan’s contribution to Celtic during his two very successful periods at the Club. Brendan leaves Celtic 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 process to appoint a new permanent manager is underway and the Club will update supporters further on this as soon as possible."
Celtic have turned to one of their most beloved figures to steady the ship. Martin O’Neill, the mastermind who guided the Bhoys to seven major trophies in the early 2000s, including three Premierships, has been named interim manager. O’Neill, 73, will be joined by former midfielder Shaun Maloney in a caretaker setup that aims to stabilise the team while the board searches for a permanent boss.
Celtic said: "We are pleased that during this interim period former Celtic manager, Martin O’Neill and former Celtic player, Shaun Maloney have agreed to take charge of Celtic first-team matters. Further details will be confirmed shortly."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportPostecoglou’s brutal fall at Forest
Postecoglou’s name is back in circulation after he was shown the door by Forest, just 40 days into the job. The 60-year-old Australian endured a nightmare stint, overseeing only eight matches before being ruthlessly dismissed. Now, he is being tipped to return for a second spell in Glasgow. During his first season, he collected two Scottish Premiership titles, two League Cups, and a Scottish Cup to emerge as a fan favourite. Now, former Hoops striker and pundit Sutton has urged the club to bring back the charismatic Australian.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sutton said: "It could happen, I mean, would I like to see him back? Yeah, eventually, why not? I really enjoyed Angeball. Well, I think Brendan will leave at the end of the season – if [Postecoglou] just slots in next season, I would love to see Big Ange back. He’s respected at Celtic, the job he did. Brilliant, Angeball, what a brand of football."
He also posted on X: "So in the end it was all Brendan’s fault… good luck to Martin O Neill and Shaun Maloney in the short term… bring back big Ange🍀"
Desmond vents fury at Rodgers
Celtic’s principal shareholder, Dermot Desmond, did not hold back his disappointment. While thanking Rodgers for his service, he made it clear that the relationship had soured long before Monday night.
He put out a statement which read: "Brendan Rodgers has today tendered his resignation as manager of Celtic Football Club. I want to acknowledge Brendan’s contribution across his two spells as manager, during which he helped deliver success that forms part of the club’s modern history. However, I must also express my deep disappointment at the way the past several months have unfolded.
"When we brought Brendan back to Celtic two years ago, it was done with complete trust and belief in his ability to lead the club into a new era of sustained success. Unfortunately, his conduct and communication in recent months have not reflected that trust. In June, both Michael Nicholson and I expressed to Brendan that we were keen to offer him a contract extension, to reaffirm the club’s full backing and long-term commitment to him. He said he would need to think about it and revert. Yet in subsequent press conferences, Brendan implied that the club had made no commitment to offer him a contract. That was simply untrue.
"We met with Brendan regularly, including in December last year and at the start of the summer, with regular dialogue in between, to discuss and agree our collective strategy, priorities, and approach. Every player signed and every player sold during his tenure was done so with Brendan’s full knowledge, approval, and endorsement. Any insinuation otherwise is absolutely false.
"His later public statements about transfers and club operations came entirely out of the blue. At no point prior to those remarks had he raised any such concerns with me, Michael, or any member of the board or executive team. In reality, he was given final say over all football matters and was consistently backed in the recruitment process – including record investment in players he personally identified and approved. When his comments were made publicly, I sought to address them directly. Brendan and I met for over three hours at his home in Scotland to discuss the issue.
"Despite ample opportunity, he was unable to identify a single instance where the club had obstructed or failed to support him. The facts did not match his public narrative. Regrettably, his words and actions since then have been divisive, misleading, and self-serving. They have contributed to a toxic atmosphere around the club and fuelled hostility towards members of the executive team and the Board. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable.
"Every member of the Board and executive team is deeply passionate about Celtic and acts at all times with professionalism, integrity, and a shared desire for success. What has failed recently was not due to our structure or model, but to one individual’s desire for self-preservation at the expense of others. Celtic’s structure — where the manager oversees football, the Chief Executive manages operations, and the Board provides oversight, has served the club with great success for more than two decades.
"We all share the same ambition: to ensure Celtic’s continued success domestically and to achieve further progress in Europe. Every pound generated by the club is reinvested towards those goals and the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club. Celtic is greater than any one person. Our focus now is on restoring harmony, strengthening the squad, and continuing to build a club worthy of its values, traditions, and supporters."
GettyCeltic’s gamble and the future ahead
Hearts’ impressive early form has left Celtic playing catch-up, while O’Neill’s interim tenure is likely to focus on steadying morale rather than immediate transformation. Behind the scenes, the Celtic hierarchy must now decide whether to chase nostalgia or take a bold new direction. Postecoglou’s return would ignite the fanbase, but questions linger over whether he’d want to step back into a role he left in triumph.