Celtic

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Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton tells BBC Radio 5 Live: "It is astonishing but I think there is a general feeling after Brendan Rogers said his piece before the season, didn't get the players in he would have liked, the desired quality, this was rumbling on.

"In press conferences he had little digs and pokes at the fact he didn't get players in, and digs that seemed to be aimed at the board.

"His dissatisfaction was that he wasn't given the team he wanted. When you go back to last season, and the relative success Celtic had in the Champions League, he felt it was about progressing the club and that hasn't happened.

"They have had a poor start to the season, out of the Champions League and even domestically not as dominant as they should have been.

"They lost players, didn't replace them. It has been an unhappy club at the start of this season and there has been a friction between Rogers and the club hierarchy.

"Last week, after the defeat at Dundee, he compared his team to a Honda Civic. That's not going to go down well in the dressing room, I think that was another dig at the club.

"Watching the club on a daily basis and realising they are miles off it, that's the way Celtic have been this season, and he has resigned."

Chris McLaughlin
Scotland sports news correspondent

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We knew that all wasn't well but the resignation of Brendan Rodgers just nine league games into the season is something few saw coming.

He was critical of the board over what he saw as a lack of transfer activity in the summer. Those comments led to some supporters calling for the board to stand down.

But the club's major shareholder Dermot Desmond, in a statement following the resignation, described Rodgers comments as divisive, misleading and self serving.

So, a breakdown in relations between club and manager, coupled with a poor start to the season, and Rodgers' second spell at Celtic is over in the most dramatic of circumstances.

For now, former Martin O'Neill comes in to steady the ship and Celtic start the search, once again, for Rodgers' successor and the stability they hope comes with it.

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Major shareholder Dermot Desmond has vehemently criticised Brendan Rodgers, accusing him of "divisive, misleading, and self-serving" behaviour in the final months of his Celtic tenure.

Rodgers, who returned to the club in June 2023, has resigned with the club trailing Premiership leaders Hearts by eight points after nine matches.

Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney have taken interim charge.

Rodgers, 52, won the title in the past two seasons but aired frustrations with Celtic's business in the summer transfer window this term as the club failed to reach the Champions League and struggled domestically.

In a statement to supporters shortly after the club confirmed Rodgers' departure, Desmond expressed "deep disappointment" over Rodgers' conduct since the summer.

He said: "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 are beaten 3-1 by Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts on Sunday in what proved to be the final game of Brendan Rodgers' second stint as manager.

With Celtic having fallen eight points behind by the Tynecastle club, Rodgers resigned on Monday evening.

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Celtic confirmed the resignation of Brendan Rodgers tonight in a 134-word statement.

It 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.

"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."

In a stunning turn of events Brendan Rodgers has resigned as Celtic manager.

Martin O'Neill returns to the club to take interim charge along with former forward Shaun Maloney, with Celtic saying "the process to appoint a new permanent manager is under way".

Rodgers departs with Celtic trailing Premiership leaders Hearts by eight points following Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle.

What do you make of the bombshell news? Was it the right time for Rodgers to end his second spell? And who should replace him?

Share your thoughts here.

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"The players always have to take responsibility," is the simple message from captain Callum McGregor as Celtic find themselves eight points behind Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.

Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle was a second successive away loss for the champions, who have dropped points in four of their opening nine matches in the Premiership.

The club's board and manager Brendan Rodgers have come in for flak from supporters but McGregor insists "the only guys who can fix it are the guys on the pitch".

Talking after a meek display in Edinburgh, the midfielder said: "Even with the distraction of the [protests against the] board and [lack of] signings and everything else, I've been the one who has said 'no, no, no, the players have got to take responsibility'.

"Yes, I understand, we're in a difficult moment, but the only people who are coming to save you is yourself.

"We can't be looking at who is going to take the baton off you, we have to fix it. And what we have to do is learn quicker than we're learning at the minute or else we won't fix it, it's as simple as that.

"I think the players understand the situation, but we need to turn that into action on the pitch.

"I see it on Thursday night [against Sturm Graz] when we were excellent. But we need to back it up three days later and then another three days later we've got to do the same.

"That's where we are, we're showing flashes, but not on a consistent enough basis."

With Daizen Maeda, Kelechi Iheanacho, Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers out injured, the inexperienced trio of Colby Donovan, Dane Murray and Johnny Kenny started against Hearts.

Murray, 22, had a rough day, knocking in an own goal and giving away a penalty, but McGregor said: "Listen, the young players are exempt from this because they need help as well.

"When young guys get chucked into the team, it's the responsibility of the other players to protect them because they need time to develop, to get better, to make mistakes.

"I've been there as a young player when I've made mistakes. You need senior players around you to pick you back up."

Manager Brendan Rodgers is facing the "biggest challenge of his Celtic career", says former midfielder Scott Allan.

Defeat at Tynecastle on Sunday means Rodgers' side are now eight points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts after nine matches.

The reigning champions have been far from their best this term, failing to win four of those nine league games and scoring just 12 times.

After failing to reach the Champions League earlier this season, Celtic fans have vented their anger at the club board for what they felt was a poor transfer window.

But sections of the support are now directing their frustration at Rodgers, who has now failed to win 14 of his past 31 fixtures in charge.

That run of form stretches back to when the Parkhead side were dumped out of last campaign's Champions League in Munich in February.

Since then, Celtic's win percentage stands at 55%.

"This is biggest challenge of Brendan Rodgers' Celtic career, no question for me," said Allan, who was a Celtic player between 2015 and 2019.

"He's obviously made it public about maybe not getting [signings] over the line who he felt were the right strength for the group and rightly so, he can have that.

"But he now knows what he's got to work with up until January. It's up to him to find a system that works.

"Yes, there have been injuries. But Celtic still have guys worth millions of pounds on the bench, internationals littered throughout the squad.

"He has to find the best recipe and get every last drop out of the players he has and that's the challenge for him."

Celtic return to action on Wednesday when they host Falkirk, before an Old Firm League Cup semi-final against Rangers on Sunday.

We asked for your views on Celtic's 3-1 defeat against Hearts.

Here's what some of you said:

Darren: It's not Brendan Rodgers that's the problem. It's the board. They buy and sell the players and expect the head coach to build a team out of what they buy. It's not Rodgers' fault, it's the board acting like a bunch of selectors and they got it wrong badly. Celtic can be a force in Europe but this board won't take a chance.

Jim: It seems that Celtic are going backwards with Brendan at the helm. He doesn't appear to be interested or fully committed to the club and the players seem to lack inspiration or motivation. Maybe it's time for changes both on and off the field?

David: Dane Murray got his chance and blew it. He was directly to blame for the first and third goal, did not have a clue as to his positioning in the box and did nothing to stop the ball for the second. Callum McGregor showed some form at last but was fighting a lone battle. Well played Hearts, you were good.

Joe: Rodgers' position must now be in serious jeopardy. Forget the transfer window, Celtic are consistently losing to clubs with a fraction of the resources they have. The standard of play is truly awful and lack of goals is embarrassing. That sits with the manager.

Patrick: A really poor performance. A shame for the youngsters, but let's hope they learn from it. Momentum is everything and Hearts have it all while Celtic have none. Need to improve these performances as the board can't do anything until January now, so no point blaming them. The manager needs to get more from the players.

Stuart: Again Rodgers has no answer, takes off our best player for an inferior winger. He built this squad and should take the blame. Rodgers should do the honourable thing and resign. Would you give him the huge amount of money he will need in January to improve this lot?

Celtic have been informed that Cluj are eager to sell Louis Munteanu during the January transfer window, the Scottish champions having had a £7m offer rejected for the 23-year-old Romania striker this summer. (Football Transfers), external

Celtic midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, currently struggling to make an impact on loan to Los Angeles, has revealed he is battling to save his career at the age of just 22 after a rare condition in his calves that has left him feeling "half-paralysed" when he plays. (Daily Record), external

Feyenoord look set to suffer a partial stadium closure when they face Celtic in De Kuip next month in the Europa League after fans set off fireworks in their match against Panathinaikos this week while the club are already on a suspended sentence from Uefa. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Rampant Hearts powered eight points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership to bolster their early-season title credentials and deepen the malaise around Brendan Rodgers' side.

How concerned are Celtic supporters after Sunday's defeat?

Share your thoughts

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "Disappointing result and performance. It's a disappointing day. We made too many mistakes with the ball and without the ball. Its a game we should take something from but we didn't do enough.

"We go behind in the game, show a good mentality to come back, score a very good goal. When we then had the ball in their half, I just think we gave it away too easily.

"It's a really poor [second Hearts] goal from our perspective. We didn't move when the ball went back as a line so when they play it, they should have players offside but didn't. We have got to do better with the shot. We highlighted the young winger, he likes to come inside, he likes to shoot.

"And then we make the mistake for the penalty, so then all of a sudden it's 3-1. Dane [Murray], the young players, you have to be exposed to the pressure. Where we're at as a team, we're needing these players. Dane makes the own goal and then a little bit rash for the penalty. It's something that he'll learn from.

"There's still so many points to play for. It's still so early. It's only nine games in. Obviously, being eight points behind is not what we would want. The comfort is there's so many games to play. We now have to focus on the here and now and look to find more consistency and more quality in our play."

Andy Campbell
BBC Scotland

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Rampant Hearts powered eight points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership to bolster their early-season title credentials and deepen the malaise around Brendan Rodgers' side.

Alexandros Kyziridis' fine strike and Lawrence Shankland's penalty gave Derek McInnes' side a 3-1 lead that the reigning champions could not recover from.

Dane Murray - one of three youngsters in the Celtic XI - slashed into his own net early on to put Hearts ahead at a bouncing Tynecastle, and it was the 22-year-old's foul that led to the spot-kick.

Callum McGregor's classy first goal of the season had quickly cancelled out Hearts' opener, and Benjamin Nygren almost put Rodgers' team in front, opting for finesse over power and allowing Alexander Schwolow to save from close range.

But Derek McInnes' irrepressible Hearts seized control again to consign Celtic to successive league defeats for the first time since 2023.

Read more

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We asked for your views on what Cameron Carter-Vickers' injury blow - the defender has been ruled out for up to five months - means for Celtic.

Here's what some of you said:

Craig: With Jota, Kelechi Iheanacho and Alistair Johnston already out, Carter-Vickers joining them is very bad news. I'm starting to think this season may be cursed for us. We will now look even more shaky at the back as well as fairly toothless at the front. The board has put us in this situation and should face the consequences.

Andy: I think CCV has been off his best this season so will be good to give Dane Murray or Man City loanee Jahmai Simpson-Pusey a chance.

Morris: CCV's injury is devastating for Celtic, and the club will lose the league title. The diminutive Liam Scales is a defensive liability, but Brendan Rodgers can't see past him. This season will mark the end of an era for Celtic as several players leave. Rodgers' tenure was a car crash in slow motion.

Martin: Dane Murray. Hasn't put a foot wrong for me and will simply slot in.

Bren: Iheanacho never looked fit at Celtic. Did he have injury problems before signing? With Johnston and CCV out injured, Celtic's prospects look grim this year.

Dan: The loss of CCV is less than ideal and that loss will be felt, however, maybe we get a look at Simpson-Pusey now? Maybe Auston Trusty can return to some kind of form? Murray can step up, promote from within. Also, as unfortunate as it is to see Johnston break down again, I'm really hoping to see more of Colby Donovan deputising, I'd argue he gets the nod over Anthony Ralston at the moment.

Mike: Always look more vulnerable without him. A big blow.

Benny: Losing CCV is massive but Kieran Tierney can play centre-back with Marcelo Saracchi filling in at left-back. Or Dane Murray to play along side Scales. The only saving grace is that we do have options for the centre-back slot. Hopefully CVV will be back soon.

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Ageu and Christian Borchgrevink both have a chance of being in the Hearts squad for the first time since August but Frankie Kent (knee), Ryan Fulton (groin) and Finlay Pollock (hamstring) are still missing.

Celtic have lost Cameron Carter-Vickers to an Achilles injury while Alistair Johnston, Kelechi Iheanacho and Daizen Maeda could miss out with hamstring problems. Long-term absentee Jota (knee) remains out.

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• Hearts' Harry Milne has created more chances from set plays (12) than any player in the Scottish Premiership this season. Meanwhile, no player has more assists in the competition so far than Milne's team-mate Alexandros Kyziridis (four, level with Dundee's Cameron Congreve).

• After their 2-0 loss at Dundee, Celtic are looking to avoid back-to-back league defeats for the first time since December 2023 – when the second was against Hearts (2-0). Away from home, Celtic last suffered consecutive league defeats in May 2023.

• Hearts have won four successive league games without conceding; the last non-Old Firm club to win five in a row without conceding in the Premiership were Aberdeen in April 2023, while Hearts last achieved this in the top flight in December 2010 – a run which included a 2-0 home win over Celtic.

• This will be Celtic's first league meeting with a side starting the day top of the table since they beat Rangers 3-0 in February 2022. However, Celtic have lost their past four away league visits to sides starting the day top, including a 1-0 loss at Hearts in August 2018.

• Hearts have lost 14 of their past 16 meetings with Celtic in all competitions, with the exceptions both 2-0 league wins in season 2023-24 (December and March).

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Brendan Rodgers says he "has enough to worry about at Celtic" and hasn't concerned himself with Tony Bloom's claim Hearts can challenge for second spot in the Scottish Premiership this season.

The Brighton owner bought a 29% non-voting stake in the club earlier this year and suggested the Tynecastle side have a "very good chance" of at least finishing second in the top flight this term.

So far Bloom's ambition has been vindicated with Derek McInnes' side sitting top of the table with seven wins from their first eight games. Plus, if they beat Celtic at Tynecastle on Sunday they'll go eight points clear of the Glasgow club.

When asked what he made of Bloom's suggestion of where Hearts can finish this term, Rodgers said he "never had any reaction".

"Tony's a clever guy," the Northern Irishman said.

"He's done fantastic in his life and business. I know Tony and Darren, his brother. I go way back to the time at Brighton when they were coming through the levels and they weren't even at their own ground. The job he did at Brighton is and has been amazing.

"He obviously has seen an opportunity at Hearts and will come in and look to add his expertise and knowledge and look to get them up there.

"Hearts are one of the biggest clubs up here and will want to be challenging, and being in European football.

"So I didn't think either way of it. I've got enough to worry about with Celtic."

Rodgers is expecting a tricky encounter on Sunday when his side travel to Edinburgh to take on a Hearts side who "deserve" to be top of the table.

"They've got a really good manager who knows what he wants from his teams in Derek," he added.

"He goes in there, he knows it's a big club, he knows they've got good players, and obviously they've made a really, really good start.

"It's still very, very early. I would expect us to get better as we move along. We've been so inconsistent and our goals and all that side of it hasn't been to where we want.

"Hearts, they've made a really, really good start and deserve to be where they are. They've got their points on the board and I think they'll be looking to challenge right the way through the season."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Winger Sebastian Tounekti believes Hearts are serious title challengers as Celtic head to Tynecastle on Sunday aiming to trim the lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Derek McInnes' side hold a five-point advantage over the second-placed champions, with Celtic's Europa League victory over Sturm Graz a much-needed boost after the 2-0 defeat against Dundee last weekend.

Tunisia international Tounekti, who impressed on Thursday night, said: "The win [over Sturm Graz] was a must-win and a really important one.

"A confidence boost. We know that we are a good squad and we know that we just have to get going.

"I think Hearts have shown that they are a really good team. Yes, 100% [they are a title threat]. For us, every game is really serious, so we have to take everyone seriously.

"It's going to be a massive game on Sunday at a difficult place, but we're going there to get a result.

"We have to be at our best. Thursday night was a massive step into the right way, so we just have to keep going but we're going to go there to win. We have to be at our best to get a result."

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Winger James Forrest believes Celtic have the squad to overcome Scottish Premiership leaders and Sunday's hosts Hearts. (Record), external

Chief executive Andrew McKinlay hopes Hearts can "put a marker down" against Celtic. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip