Brendan Rodgers ‘regrets’ hurting Celtic fans with controversial Leicester exit
New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has expressed sincere regret over hurting Bhoys supporters when walking out on the club in 2019.
Rodgers, 50, was unveiled as the Scottish champion’s latest appointment on Monday (June 19), penning a three-year deal at his former club. The ex-Leicester City boss replaces Ante Postecoglou in the Parkhead hot seat with the Australian having vacated Glasgow to take up the vacant managerial position at Tottenham Hotspur.
Leading the Hoops to an Invincible Treble in the 2016/17 campaign, in which Celtic went the entirety of the domestic season unbeaten, Rodgers guided the club to a further four trophies before upping sticks to the King Power Stadium
And while successive fifth-place finishes and an FA Cup triumph would ultimately prove the decision a wise one, Rodgers still feels remorse towards his untimely exit.
READ MORE: Celtic ultras refuse to forgive returning Brendan Rodgers and repeat Leicester City jibe
“Yeah, I had so much joy there, so many great friends,” said Rodgers, reflecting on the difficulty of the decision to former Soccer AM favourite Tubes [aka. Peter Dale] on his YouTube channel.
“I think from a coaching perspective it was the challenge of the Premier League and taking a club like Leicester, who had ambitions to be in the top six.
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(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: YouTube/”HANDLE”)
“The challenge from a coaching perspective was to take a team from the midtable into that section of the league. And that challenge I felt at the time was there. But it was very, very difficult to leave of course.
“And [it was] part of the reason for going back because I never regret any decision that I’ve ever made in my life but I always regret when people get hurt by decisions I’ve made – both on a personal and professional level. So hopefully going back takes away some of the disappointment people felt when I left.”
Rodgers and Celtic kick off the 2023/24 campaign on the weekend of August 5. The Scottish Premiership fixtures are set to be released on June 30.
