johnreid 
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Celtic were in a bit of a strange situation at the end of season 2015/16. Even though the Hoops had won a fifth league title in a row, the season had not been an unqualified success, as the club failed to qualify for the Champions League, and lost to Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Manager Ronny Deila resigned in the aftermath of the loss to the Ibrox side, and the Hoops needed to make an appointment that would send a message to the rest of Scottish football.
That moment came on the 20th of May 2016, when it was announced that former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers would become the new Celtic boss.
It was a momentous announcement, as it showed that the Hoops were willing to push the boat out to bring in a manager that was one of the best in the United Kingdom.
Rodgers might have been a Celtic fan, but it was still a statement of intent to bring a manager to the club that had almost won the Premier League title with Liverpool.
The Celtic support was excited about the Rodgers appointment. This was shown by the fact that 13,000 fans were at Celtic Park to see the new manager unveiled and meet the support for the first time.
When that many fans are there to see a new manager, then you know that he is going to be something special.
Rodgers did indeed prove to be a special manager, as his first season in charge at the club – 2016/17 – has to go down as one of the best in Celtic’s history. The Bhoys not only qualified for the Champions League, but won the domestic treble and completed a first ever unbeaten domestic season.
That was arguably beyond what anyone would have expected the Hoops to achieve in Rodgers’ first season at the club.
His second season was just as successful. Celtic might not have completed another league campaign unbeaten, but the Bhoys did still win a second successive treble.
Season 18/19 was shaping to be another successful one for Rodgers at the club, until the shock announcement that he had quit Celtic to join Leicester City.
Whilst most Celtic fans are still unhappy about the circumstances of Rodgers’ exit, it can’t be denied that he was a great manager for the club. Indeed, he has to be considered as one of the best in Celtic’s history.
Rodgers’ success was unprecedented, as his Celtic team went on a 69-match unbeaten run in domestic football. That is a record which seems unlikely to be ever beaten.
Rodgers also helped Celtic rebuild the club’s reputation in Europe, to date he is the last Hoops boss to lead a side into the Champions League group stages. He also signed some very good players, the likes of Scott Sinclair, Odsonne Edouard and Moussa Dembele all played a key role in Celtic’s recent period of success.
The appointment of Rodgers was a sign that Celtic were going to try and take the club to the next level, and that is what happened when he was at Celtic Park. Hopefully the current Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou can be just as successful as Rodgers was.
