Brendan Rodgers‘ return to Celtic as manager on a three-year deal has been officially announced.

Before taking over at Leicester City, Rodgers, 50, had served as the Scottish champions’ manager from 2016 until 2019.

Following the transfer of Ange Postecoglou to Tottenham Hotspur, he returns to Parkhead.

Rodgers guided Celtic to an undefeated domestic campaign in his first season and a second Treble of the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup, and League Cup a year later during his first tenure.

When Rodgers departed for Leicester in February 2019, he had already won the 2018–19 League Cup.

But in all of his full seasons, Celtic were unable to get past the group round of the Champions League.

When Rodgers went for Leicester, Celtic supporters accused him of being a “fraud,” which greatly displeased them.

In addition to two fifth-place finishes in the Premier League and the semifinals of the Europa Conference League, he led Leicester to their first-ever FA Cup victory in 2021.

But the Foxes struggled in the previous campaign, finishing last in the Premier League after dropping seven of their first ten games.

After a defeat at Crystal Palace on April 2, by mutual consent, Rodgers departed the team because Dean Smith was unable to keep them in the Premier League.

When Australian coach Postecoglou moved to Spurs last month, the former manager of Liverpool and Swansea was instantly put among the favourites.

Rodgers said: ‘I am really delighted to return to Celtic and I am hugely excited by this great opportunity. When I was given the privilege of being asked to join the club again, it was a very simple decision for me and my family.

‘We have enjoyed some great times at Celtic before and this will be my goal again, to deliver good football, ensure we have a team we all love to watch and ultimately bring more success to our fans.

‘Ange has done some brilliant work across the last two years and I will be doing all I can to maintain Celtic’s momentum as we face into all our domestic and European challenges.

‘We have a hugely impressive and talented group of players and staff at the club, and I am really looking forward to meeting up with them all and then getting straight down to work.

‘I wanted John to be with me as we move forward. He is a very talented coach, someone I know well and respect and he will be very important to myself and our players.

‘The club is in fantastic condition at all levels and I would like to thank the board for putting their trust in me to take the team forward. We will work very closely together as we strive to bring that success to our supporters.

‘Let’s get to work!’

Stevie Woods, Gavin Strachan, and Harry Kewell will make up his coaching staff, with John Kennedy serving as his deputy manager.

Welcome back, Brendan! 🍀#CelticFC is delighted to announce that Brendan Rodgers has been appointed the Club's new Football Manager on a three-year contract.

Let's get to work! 🙌

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 19, 2023

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According to reports, Brendan Rodgers has reached an agreement to take over as manager of Celtic for a second time.

Enzo Maresca and Pascal Jansen, the managers of AZ Alkmaar and Leicester City, had been on Celtic’s short list, but Rodgers rapidly stood out as the best choice to succeed Ange Postecoglou.

After winning a record-setting domestic triple with the club, Postecoglou recently departed the Hoops for the open position at Tottenham Hotspur.

And Rodgers, who won the domestic triple twice with the team during his previous tenure as Celtic manager, is the other candidate to succeed Postecoglou.

Sources told us last week that Dermot Desmond, the owner of Celtic, had discussions with Brendan Rodgers about the open managerial position and had promised to pay for a team makeover at the former manager’s request. Rodgers formerly managed Liverpool and Leicester City.

John Kennedy, who turned down an offer from Postecoglou to work at Tottenham Hotspur in order to work with the Northern Irish coach at Parkhead, will remain at the club to serve as a coach alongside Rodgers.

Rodgers has been jobless since April when Leicester City fired him due to a bad run of results. However, once Rodgers left, the Foxes’ situation did not get any better as the team was demoted from the Premier League.

Rodgers did well at the King Power Stadium, winning the FA Cup and the Community Shield before a disappointing last season with the team.

Now in charge at Celtic, Rodgers will be looking to bring Scotland even more silverware.

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Leicester City have announced the appointment of Dean Smith as interim manager until the end of the season.

Smith, who previously worked with both coaches at Aston Villa, Craig Shakespeare and John Terry, arrives at the King Power Stadium with the mission of assisting the team in avoiding relegation.

The Foxes fired Brendan Rodgers on April 1 after their 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace. The team is now in 19th place in the standings, two points outside of safety.

“I’m really happy to have the opportunity to lead the team during these final weeks of the season,,” Smith told Leicester’s official website, having taken over a side who have picked up just one point from the last 24 available.

“The challenge in front of us is clear, but it’s one myself and my coaching team have experienced before and, with the quality in this squad and the number of games remaining, it’s very much achievable.

“Our first job is to rebuild confidence and instil belief in the team and I’m looking forward to getting to work with the players this week. Saturday will be a big test, but it’s the kind of occasion that reminds us all what it means to be a Premier League club, competing on the biggest stages against the best players in the world. I know we’ll be well supported by our travelling fans. We have to connect with that and give them a performance they can be proud of. We go there positive, looking for points.”

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dean Smith as the Club’s First Team Manager until the end of the 22/23 season 🔷

— Leicester City (@LCFC) April 10, 2023

In two games as caretaker managers, first-team coaches Adam Sadler and Mike Stowell oversaw defeats to Villa and Bournemouth. Both will stay at the club as a member of Smith’s coaching staff.

Though Smith’s deal currently runs until the end of the season, According to report earlier on Monday that an extension will be discussed in the summer should Leicester be impressed with the work of the former Norwich City boss and his coaching staff.

Smith’s first task is an unfriendly journey to Manchester City on Saturday night, followed by a stretch of three straight games against teams fighting for their playoff lives: Wolves, Leeds United, and Everton.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confessed that he feels like the ‘last man standing’ after Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers were fired as managers of Chelsea and Leicester, respectively.

Both Chelsea and Leicester sacked their managers as a result of performing below expectations, and some Liverpool fans have demanded that Klopp be fired as well following a disastrous season that saw them drop to ninth in the Premier League.

When asked about his reaction to the news of the recent firings, Klopp acknowledged that he believes his continued employment is solely a result of Liverpool’s success.

“What can I say about [the sackings]? I think the elephant in the room is why am I still sitting here in this crazy world! [I am] the last man standing!” he said during his press conference ahead of the trip to face Chelsea, who will now be led by interim manager Bruno Saltor.

The Liverpool boss continued: “I am aware of the fact I am sitting here because of the past, not because of what we did this season. If it was my first season it would be slightly different.

“I am here to deliver. I am not here as a talisman or for murals on walls. I am here to deliver, I know that 100%. I know I am here for what happened in the last few years [and] I don’t like relying on that. I am fully in, and we have to sort it. We cannot continue playing like we do from time to time. I am really disappointed about us that we do these kind of things but now we have to find a way out.”

The exits of Potter and Rodgers took the total number of Premier League sackings this season to 12 – a figure Klopp admitted he was shocked to see.

“I think it’s 12 now, which is an awful number,” Klopp added.

“I think some clubs are underachieving, us too. There are expectations out there, rightly so and if you don’t reach them, you have to accept the decisions.”

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The manager of Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers, is pleased with Ademola Lookman’s success at Atalanta but regrets that he left the Premier League team.

The 25-year-old Nigerian winger was a standout performer for the Foxes during the previous season, making 26 league games and tallying six goals.

Lookman was on loan from RB Leipzig and at the end of the season, he returned to his parent club after Leicester passed on the chance to sign him on a permanent deal. He finally ended up signing for Serie A side Atalanta at the start of the current campaign.

While Lookman and Atalanta are off to a fantastic start in the Serie A season, Leicester are having trouble in the English top division where they are now sitting second to last with eight points from 11 games.

“I’ve been in contact with him and congratulated him,” Rodgers said as quoted by Tribal Football adding: “He’s done fantastic. He’s performed very well, he’s enjoying his time there and I’m delighted for him.

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“He was fantastic here, he scored goals, created goals, he worked very hard, all the things you’d want from a young winger. I’m really happy for him because he’s a great guy and very devoted to his football. He’s started very well with Atalanta.

“We could never guarantee that. I think if we were getting in anyone it was only on loan, and then it didn’t happen. Unfortunately, it was a deal we couldn’t do.”

Lookman has taken part in all the 10 league matches played so far, accumulating 511 minutes of playing time. He has scored in three successive Serie A matches and is ranked joint seventh in the top scorer’s list with four goals. He has provided one assist. Atalanta are second on the table with 24 points from 10 matches, two less than log leaders Napoli.

The Super Eagle will hope to add to his tally when Atalanta host Lazio in a league fixture at Gewiss Stadium on Sunday.

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Leicester City manager, Brendan Rodgers, has claimed that James Maddison ought to be in the England squad for their upcoming tournament.

Rodgers speaks in on the controversy over the exclusion of James Maddison from the England squad, calling it a “shame for the country.”

On Monday night in the Premier League against Nottingham Forest, Maddison once again dazzled, scoring a brilliant brace and dishing out an assist in the 4-1 thrashing of the newly promoted team.

Much has been said about Maddison’s exclusion from the team in light of England’s recent struggles in front of goal, and Rodgers offered his opinion:

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Speaking to Sky Sports following the Foxes’ victory, Rodgers said:

 “It’s a really difficult job, the quality of players that are available, but it’s such a shame I think for the country and for James himself. You see his talent and his performance level for the last 18 months.”

His performance tonight means he now has five goals and two assists to his name this season, and only Erling Haaland has been involved in more goals since May 11 this year. Maddison’s one and only England cap came against Montenegro way back in 2019.

In order to try and force himself into Gareth Southgate’s plans as the World Cup approaches, Maddison will hope he can continue to put up numbers of a similar level. A run of games against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Leeds may help him to do just that.

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