Brendan Rodgers' resignation as Celtic manager has prompted Dermot Desmond to issue a statement, which is scathing in parts, and addresses the latter stages of the Antrim native's reign.
Desmond, who is the club's largest shareholder, took issue with Rodgers' "conduct and communication in recent months", taking issue with the now-departed manager's "public narrative" on his own contract situation and the club's transfer activity.
Rodgers, whose previous managerial experience included tenures at Swansea, Liverpool and Leicester, called a halt to his second spell in charge of the Bhoys in the wake of Sunday's 3-1 William Hill Premiership loss to Hearts.
That defeat sees them trail the Jambos by eight points in the table.
Rodgers returned to Parkhead for his second spell in charge in June 2023 to replace the Spurs-bound Ange Postecoglou.
After a heady first reign at Paradise, where he delivered domestic trebles in consecutive years, Rodgers guided the Bhoys to back-to-back league titles on his return as well as winning the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.
After a summer marked by a lack of summer signings and an early Champions League exit against Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty, the 52-year-old described how he "felt empty" due to that lack of recruitment.
Rodgers contract was due to expire at the end of the season and he said in September: "I haven't had an offer yet to think over and until that comes then I'm not going to be so arrogant to say, 'yeah, I want to be here for another three years'. The club might not want me here.
"So I have to respect that and until that happens. Then I just continue to do my job.
"And if going forward, if I do get offered a deal, then of course there needs to be conditions within that allows me to work to the best I possibly can. If not, then it's maybe just there's two philosophies that don't quite add up and I also accept that."
Desmond, in this statement released on the club website, contradicted facets of Rodgers' public utterances, and said: "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 (club CEO) 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."
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