Neil Lennon reveals battle Brendan Rodgers ‘may never win’ after Celtic return

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers may never win over some of his doubters according to one of his predecessors at the club.

The former Liverpool manager agreed to return to Celtic Park earlier this summer, four years after his first reign came to an end when he accepted an offer to take charge at English Premier League club Leicester City. The decision to move south of the border brought down the curtain on a successful spell as Rodgers became a two-time winner of the both the Premiership and Scottish Cup, as well as a three-time winner of the League Cup.

His return to Celtic provoked a mixed response from supporters after some were left aggrieved by his decision to leave the club to take over at Leicester during the second half of the 2018/19 season. Rodgers began the progress of appeasing some of his doubters when David Turnbull, Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley all found the net in last weekend’s 4-2 home win against Ross County - but former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has insisted there are some supporters he will never win around.

The former Celtic player and manager told the BBC’s ‘Football Pass’ podcast: “He will have been relieved (after the win).

“He’s under the spotlight but Brendan is experienced enough and he’s had that pedigree for a long, long time. He’s gone into the club before, he knows what the expectations are. Obviously he left in acrimonious circumstances according to some people, he has to try and win those people around.

“He may never win some around. He made a huge impact when he first went up and he probably won’t have the same impact because that is gone. We know he made a huge impact the first time and it’s very difficult to replicate that - but what he can do is try and keep that run of championships going, which the Celtic fans will demand.”

Celtic are back in action on Sunday lunchtime when Rodgers takes his side to Aberdeen.