Brendan Rodgers’ return to Celtic certainly raised some eyebrows across the football punditry world and across the Parkhead support.
When Ange Postecoglou departed for Tottenham Hotspur, there seemed to be only one man in the frame for the Celtic hotseat and Dermot Desmond ensured that happened.
Brendan Rodgers was announced as the Celtic manager on the 19th of June 2023 and it’s fair to say that the appointment split the opinion of the fans.
Now, we all know why so there’s no real need to go into all that. Rodgers returned with a view to retaining the league and improving our fortunes in Europe.
The Irishman has achieved one of those objectives and in doing so, it would be fair to assume that he has won over many of his doubters this season.
Sutton shuts down BBC man’s ‘loveless’ Celtic claim
Whilst I would never claim to speak for the Celtic fans the general feeling amongst forums and discussion online is that Rodgers has the backing of the majority of the Celtic fans.
So when BBC pundit, Rory Smith suggested that the relationship between the Celtic fans and Rodgers was ‘loveless’, Chris Sutton immediately shot that down.
Sutton said [The Monday Night Club], “I think you’re miles out when you say it’s loveless. It’s the opposite of that. I think winning is the important thing.
“Brendan coming back was, whatever anybody says, was a risk. But he came back to prove a point and that was courageous.
“He could have gone off to Saudi Arabia, jobs down south and I’m sure he could have gone to a lot of places in Europe.
“His reputation speaks for itself. So there is that but him coming back and the environment up here, I take my hat off to him for that.”
Whilst there are still Celtic fans who remain to be convinced about Rodgers, to claim that the relationship with all the supporters is ‘loveless’ is just daft.
And whilst those that still have doubts are more than entitled to feel that way, winning a league and Scottish Cup double would help alleviate some of the ill-feeling that remains amongst some fans.