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The Rodgers has resigned from his position as the club's manager, with Martin Martin O'Neill consenting to a temporary comeback.

Rodgers, who returned for a another spell at Celtic Park in 2023, secured successive championships, adding to his earlier title triumphs from 2017 and 2018.

However, the ex- Liverpool FC and Leicester City manager leaves with the champions trailing their rivals by eight points after nine games of the this season.

A club statement disclosed that Rodgers offered his departure, which was accepted with immediate effect.

The majority shareholder, Celtic's largest shareholder, then added a scathing statement of his own, accusing him of divisive, deceptive, and self-interested conduct.

O'Neill, 73, managed Celtic from 2000-05, securing three Scottish Premier League titles, 3 Scottish Cups, and a League Cup.

He will be accompanied by former player Maloney, who had 2 periods as a footballer with the club and holds coaching background with Hibernian and Wigan Athletic.

Rodgers signed a three-year deal on his return and consistently emphasized that he would fulfill the contract, as his previous exit in 2019 had created so much bitterness.

After quizzed about renewing that agreement in August, he maintained there had been no formal proposal.

However, the shareholder has now given his version of the situation, stating the team were keen to keep Rodgers on past the conclusion of this campaign to reaffirm the club's complete support and long-term dedication to him.

The Irish businessman continued to assert that his assertion that no proposal had been made was just untrue.

This campaign has unfolded against a background of anti-board protests at the stadium, and Desmond accused the manager of adding to a negative atmosphere.

Another feature in the early stages of this term was the manager's seeming dismay over player dealings, with multiple comments to disappointing recruitment over the off-season.

Commenting after the 2-0 loss at Dundee on 19 October, he remarked: There is no way you'll go into a competition and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say 'I want you to perform it like a Ferrari'. It's not going to occur.

Yet Desmond stated: Every player acquired and every player transferred during his tenure was done so with the manager's full awareness, consent, and support. Any insinuation to the contrary is absolutely false.

That which has gone wrong lately was not due to our setup or system, but to one individual's desire for self-protection at the cost of everyone else.