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Brendan Rodgers resigns as Celtic manager Former boss Martin O'Neill returns on interim basis - follow his press conference "I had 10 minutes to make up my mind" says O'Neill Scottish Premiership champions are eight points behind Hearts after losing 3-1 at Tynecastle on Sunday Who should succeed Rodgers? Submit your thoughts here and vote in our poll at the top of this page Clive Lindsay & Josef Rindl Ange Postecoglou had only just moved into his new flat when he was giving his marching orders at Nottingham Forest. Only 39 days after being appointed, the 60-year-old became the shortest-serving permanent Premier League manager. He did not even have time to take his post-match news conference, Forest acting only 17 minutes after the final whistle of the 3-0 Premier League defeat by Chelsea. Postecoglou, having replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on 9 September, was supposed to take the club to the next level and to their first major trophy since 1990. But, after an eighth game without a win, Postecoglou left Forest as their shortest-serving permanent manager - less than Alex Mc Leish, who lasted 40 days. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say The talk of Ange isn’t unsurprising, but I doubt even he could save this team at the moment, and would he want to put himself back into the spotlight in British football with another club in turmoil and the pressure and magnitude? Not so sure. Fergus Ange's Celtic provided some of the best football we have played, however, I am always doubtful about managers returning for a second spell. Might not always go the way people think. .. Dom in Edinburgh Chris Sutton Former Celtic striker on Sky Sports I think Ange Postecoglou would be a really smart appointment. He was loved the first time round. His brand of football went down well in Glasgow. He's out of work. I think that would be a pretty obvious choice, a good choice and bring a lot of positivity back to Celtic, which they need right now. During his two seasons at Celtic, Ange Postecoglou won all there is to win on the domestic front. He followed up a double in his maiden campaign with a domestic treble in his second. Postecoglou's league win in his first season in charge was made all the more impressive by the fact rivals Rangers won the title by 25 points the season before his appointment. 2021-22 2022-23 Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Never go back, applies to Rodgers, O’Neill and Ange, it always ends in tears. Nick Whether he was expecting it or not, Martin O'Neill is in the Celtic hotseat, but for how long? The 73-year-old has been appointed alongside former Celtic player Shaun Maloney as an interim management team. However, the conversation has already moved on to who might replace them as the permanent boss. Another former manager, Ange Postecoglou, is the man many are tipping to take the job. The 60-year-old Australian, who was sacked after just eight games in charge of Nottingham Forest, is the bookmakers' favourite, according to the Scotsman, external. Want more gossip? Have a read here. Interestingly, Martin O'Neill had been on Talk Sport earlier on Monday talking about the Scottish title race - and his belief that Hearts could become the first non-Old Firm side to win it since 1985. The interview followed Hearts 3-1 victory over Celtic on Sunday in Brendan Rodgers' last match in charge and gave no indication that O'Neill was preparing himself to take the Celtic hotseat. "Hearts have shown a great determination. Their record is great, at this minute, " O'Neill said. "With Celtic not being as strong as maybe you would want them to be, it is possible. "Celtic can actually lose games now, whereas before, they looked invincible in matches. Rangers are no threat whatsoever. They are so far adrift it's untrue. "This is the moment - this is the time for Hearts. They have gone eight points clear. That is a decent enough lead, really. Their confidence has grown, and it will grow from that victory. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say If we lose on Sunday then I never want to see Rodgers face again nor Ange. Managers who walk away aren't fit to manage Celtic. O'Neil is a shadow of his former self and this spells disaster. The board need to go. Patrick Tom English BBC Scotland chief sports writer on Scottish Football Podcast Martin O'Neill's last job in management over five years ago at Nottingham Forest ended badly. He's been out of the game for quite a while, he hasn't had a good experience in football for quite a while. O'Neill will have the aura with every Celtic fan without question, but will he have the aura with the players? Will he be able to get through to them? What he did in the past, is that going to matter to some of the characters in the Celtic team? You can listen to the full podcast here Martin O'Neill does have a history of turning teams around and winning things, most notably in his first five-year spell at Celtic, but that ended 20 years ago. He won three Scottish Premier League titles, three Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup with Celtic. The 73-year-old's return to the club as interim manager is his first appointment in six years after leaving Nottingham Forest in 2019. Earlier in his career, when in charge of Wycombe Wanderers from 1990-1995, O'Neill won the Football Conference, two FA trophies, the Conference League Cup and three Conference Shields. He also won two Football League Cups while manager of Leicester City from 1995-2000. On an individual level, he won the Scottish Premiership manager of the year in 2004 and the Scottish Football Writers Association manager of the year two times. The size of the task facing Celtic is made clear by the Scottish Premiership table. Brendan Rodgers' last act as manager was to lead them to a 3-1 defeat against leaders Hearts, who opened an eight-point gap over Celtic at the top of the table. Celtic are also struggling in the Europa League, down in 21st place in the league phase table after a win, draw and a defeat from their opening three games. They must finish in the top 24 after eight games to make the knockout stages. Returning manager Martin O'Neill will not have to wait long for his first game - Celtic take on Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday. It is thought we will hear from O'Neill today in a news conference to preview that game, but the details of that have not yet been confirmed. We will keep you updated as things progress. Here are Celtic's next six games: Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Well there had to be something going on as Brendan Rodgers had obviously lost the dressing room a while ago. I suspect that playing his favourites despite the fact some of them are past it did him no favours, either. The season has gone - use it to rebuild. Graeme Craig Nelson BBC Sport reporter Paul Lambert was, of course, part of the Celtic team that made it to the 2003 Uefa Cup final under Martin O'Neill. He was joined by a host of talented players in that side, including Henrik Larsson, Stilliyan Petrov, Neil Lennon, Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton. Lambert questions whether Martin O'Neill has the "tools" to work with in the current squad to enable him to have the same impact at Celtic this season. Time will tell. .. Paul Lambert Former Scotland midfielder on the Scottish Football Podcast You'll get the usual fans that'll come out and say it's great he's [Brendan Rodgers] away, and others that'll say its disappointing. But the gaffer coming back in [Martin O'Neill] is probably the most successful manager, in most people's eyes, since Jock Stein. O'Neill got the club to a European final, he's done the treble in his first year. The gaffer has gone to Celtic to help them out, and the fans will think he can walk on water. They thought he could when he was there before. The only difference is he doesn't have the same players, and that's the main part. That's the tools, and you can only work with what you've got. But if there's any man that can turn things around and get them winning, get the crowd back on side, it's him. You can listen to the full podcast here In any other context, the return of Martin O'Neill to Celtic, 20 years after the end of his first spell as manager, would dominate the headlines. He led Celtic from 2000-05, winning three Scottish titles, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup. The now 73-year-old Northern Irishman also took Celtic to the 2003 Uefa Cup final, where they lost 3-2 to Jose Mourinho's Porto after extra time. O'Neill went on to manage Aston Villa, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland, but has not taken charge of a club since being sacked by Nottingham Forest in June 2019. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Needed a shake up and this might be just the thing. Martin O'Neill is an old-school managerial type who will command instant respect - just what's required at the moment - no "projects" thank you. Iain Not sure if these players will know what's hit them with Martin O'Neill coming back though. They will certainly get a boot up the backside. Mark The messiah has returned. Iona Chris Sutton Former Celtic striker on Football Daily It is astonishing but I think there is a general feeling after Brendan Rodgers said his piece before the season, didn’t get the players in which 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 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. Brendan Rodgers spoke to BBC Sport Scotland, in what would be his final interview as Celtic manager, following his side's defeat to Hearts. The 52-year-old acknowledged that the performance wasn't where he wanted it to be but remained upbeat with regard to the fact there were 29 games of the season to go. This video can not be played 'We've still got 29 games left' - Rodgers Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.