The day that rocked Celtic - One year on from O'Neill's return

A year after Brendan Rodgers resigned following a row with shareholder Dermot Desmond, Martin O'Neill has been confirmed as permanent Celtic manager after winning the league and cup double.

One year ago, Celtic faced a crisis when manager Brendan Rodgers resigned on October 27, 2025, following a three-hour meeting with principal shareholder Dermot Desmond that ended in a major row. Rodgers had grown increasingly frustrated with the board's refusal to invest in replacements after key departures: Kyogo Furuhashi sold to Rennes for £10m, Nicolas Kuhn to Como for £16.5m, and Adam Idah also leaving, leaving the club with just one senior striker.

The resignation came after Celtic's 3-1 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle, which left them eight points behind in the title race. Despite earning £75m from the previous season's Champions League run and reaching the play-offs against Bayern Munich, Rodgers felt the club had failed to back him in the transfer market. He famously said: "There's no way you'll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, 'I want you to drive it like a Ferrari'. It's not going to happen."

Club legend Martin O'Neill, 74, stepped in on an interim basis alongside Shaun Maloney while Celtic searched for a permanent manager. After leading the club to a league and cup double last season, O'Neill has now been appointed permanent boss, bringing stability after the turbulent period.