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It’s been 18 months since Brendan Rodgers signed a contract extension at Celtic to stay at Parkhead until 2021, but the camp is in a considerably different place now than it was then.
In April 2017, Rodgers was on course to win a domestic treble with Celtic, having already clinched the Premiership title and League Cup, but now he finds his future uncertain and rumours rife about a split in the camp.
So, what happened?
Despite winning back-to-back domestic trebles in his first two seasons in charge, Rodgers finds his reputation somewhat battered and bruised this campaign. Celtic have underperformed in the league - find themselves six points adrift of top spot - and they’ve let themselves down in Europe - suffering elimination from the Champions League at the qualifying stage.
After his side were knocked out of the competition by AEK Athens, Rodgers revealed his frustration at a lack of summer signings. The former Liverpool boss has proven himself in domestic competition and wanted a deep run in the Champions League, but blamed recruitment for his failings which could have long-term ramifications - £10m spent on signings, £37m made in departures.
Back in August, he told BBC Scotland: “It’s pretty obvious, you have to keep progressing and keep getting stronger. You only need to look at Liverpool, who got to the Champions League final and invested the money they had to be stronger. It’s not rocket science. You have to always guard against becoming complacent and the way you do that is by adding to the squad. There are players we’ve kept, but obviously getting other players in.”
Celtic’s poor form extended to the Premiership where they dropped points in three of their first six games of the season, and questions were being asked of Rodgers. The Hoops boss was likely asking himself where he sees the club going in the next few years if the board aren’t going to sanction more lucrative investment into transfers. Rodgers is an ambitious manager who’s admitted he wants to return to the Premier League one day, so if there’s a glass ceiling at Celtic, that could be the end of his impressive reign in Scotland.
Cracks are beginning to show at Celtic, there are reports of discontentment in the camp and pundits such as Chris Sutton & Charlie Nicholas believe Rodgers looks fed up with the situation as the cub aren't progressing.
Is there a chance this season at Parkhead could be Rodgers’ last?
