Hoops legend Peter Grant admitted Parkhead was an unhappy place towards the end of Rodgers’ tenure
18:32, 30 Oct 2025Updated 19:33, 30 Oct 2025
Dermot Desmond was in the stands(Image: PA)
Peter Grant admits he feared Celtic were turning into Rangers after a bitter fallout between Brendan Rodgers and the hierarchy.
Rodgers packed his bags on Monday after it was announced in a bombshell statement that he had resigned as boss following a turbulent start to the season.
The Irishman was at loggerheads with the board over a calamitous transfer window and refused to draw a line under it, aiming repeated digs at the hand he was dealt – and claiming he had been chucked the keys to a Honda Civic.
An unnamed club insider briefed against Rodgers in a tabloid paper in September accusing him of “engineering his exit” and “tearing the club apart” – with fans also at odds with the club’s under-fire board.
Desmond then aimed a blistering parting shot at Rodgers when it was announced he had left the club for a second time – accusing him of creating a “toxic” atmosphere and breaking the trust of his paymasters.
It was an astonishing character assassination that sent shockwaves across football.
And with Rangers also suffering years of turmoil across the city, Hoops legend Grant feared Celts were heading down a similar road.
He told Go Radio: “That was a worry for me, Brendan coming out with the wee comments.
“If you keep chipping away with that, especially after he came out and said a couple of times ‘Let’s put that to bed until we can get back into the market’, and then he’d come out and throw something else again.
“You have to be very careful. I thought it was the wrong time. He said he didn’t regret it and tried to explain it.
“But if you are on the other side of that, and you know certain things, it’s going to be hurting you.
“People don’t want to hear it. The fans are sick of hearing it. Let’s take responsibility for performances.
“No matter what anyone says, without a shadow of a doubt, you needed players in.
“After Kairat and all of that, there was a massive pressure because the bottom line is, the performances weren’t good enough.
“But the players there were still good enough to beat them, but it didn’t happen.
“I know what it’s like to be part of the management team. We had a few bad results and we were out the door. We had one horrendous result and you lose your job.
“So you have to be very, very careful because nobody is above that, no matter how successful you are.
“I thought we were turning into Rangers, there was that much talking about infighting and change.
“You can’t constantly do that, because it’s not a happy place.
“You saw what happened at Ibrox. How many managers have they had in a short period of time?”