Sam Allardyce has warned that Brendan Rodgers could become the “casualty” of Celtic’s ongoing boardroom unrest after the manager accused a senior figure of briefing against him.
Rodgers branded the anonymous source a “coward” and urged the club to investigate, insisting he remains committed to Celtic and would be open to signing a new contract under the right conditions.
One of those conditions may be the removal of the person who briefed the tabloids against Rodgers.
But Allardyce believes the damage to trust behind the scenes may already be irreparable.
Speaking on his No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, the former England and Premier League boss said: “So somebody doesn’t like him then? There’s nothing worse than somebody at board level that’s not on your side. I mean, that’s not his fault though, is that?
“Unless he’s upset him and he’s waiting to get his own back, you can’t not have a relationship like that with your board.
“It depends who it is on the board. If you’ve got a great relationship with the number one on the board, then you talk about it and you either decide whether it’s Brendan goes or that board member. That’s a bigger decision more than ever, isn’t it?
“But in terms of that relationship now, it’s never going to be the same once that becomes public.
“Maybe, probably Brendan would deny it, I don’t think it’s right, but he probably would. But, you know, we all end up the casualty normally, as managers. Even when it’s not our fault, we still end up being the casualty. We’re the ones that get sacrificed first.”
Rodgers’ future remains one of the biggest questions hanging over Celtic this season. While results on the pitch have kept the team top of the Premiership, the fractured relationship with the board continues to cast a long shadow over Parkhead.
Speculation will be rife until a decision is made one way or another. There have been talks, but no contract has been offered yet.
His hands are tied, though. If Rodgers comes out and says he wants to leave at the end of the season, he can wave goodbye to getting backed in the January market. And committing to a contract without any assurances would be simply stupid.
Big Sam is right, and is diplomatically stopping short of saying what the so-called “leak” indicated!
It’s actually crystal clear! If anyone wants to take a genuine look, without the bloodthirsty approach for boardroom heads, it’s absolutely obvious that Rodgers has been engineering his way out all season! In fact, he started early last season!
What intrigues me most however is how he has managed to con so many so-called Celtic fans into buying into his rhetoric!
This, don’t forget is a man who shafted us all! He almost destroyed the club at the very worst possible time in the season, and whether many fans like to admit it or not, if it wasn’t for Neil Lennon, we were screwed!
But Rodgers’ sole objective now is revenge against Lawwell, only because he doesn’t like him! Rightly or wrongly, they are unable to work together and there is a power struggle. If Lawwell DOES step down, don’t think for one minute Rodgers is sticking around! He’ll have won his dual so can move along happily!
Win or lose, Rodgers is proving one thing about himself this season.
He is still a scumbag!
I’ve made my feelings clear about BR… But to suggest that he is the schemer in all this…is ludicrous and I have to ask.,.is Joe your middle name Peter ??….Your continuing backing of the Board and attacks on BR are so out of step with the support…So who are you really ?