Ally McCoist has said that the timing of Brendan Rodgers leaving isn’t ideal and that it won’t suit Steve Clarke, one of the names that has been mentioned as new Celtic manager. He also claimed that there had obviously been a big falling out between Rodgers and chief executive Peter Lawwell.
McCoist was talking on the Alan Brazil Breakfast Show on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning (9am), after the news broke that Rodgers was set to leave Celtic and join Leicester as the Premier League side’s new manager.
“I’m not really surprised given all the noises that have come out. I agree with you, the timing maybe isn’t ideal, but I’m not totally surprised,” McCoist said.
Asked whether he thought that there had been a big falling out between Rodgers and Peter Lawwell behind the scenes he said, “Well that’s certainly the case. Brendan made it clear he wanted to strengthen the squad and Lawwell wouldn’t let him do that. That’s why I say it’s not a surprise.
“I always thought Rodgers wanted to move on. His time at Celtic has been a success. I’m not sure about the timing of the departure. I don’t think the timing will suit Steve Clarke. It certainly suits Neil Lennon.
“Scottish clubs have become selling clubs. Celtic and Rangers used to be buying the best players in Europe and we’re miles away from that now. It certainly will affect top quality coaches coming to Scotland. It’s not ideal timing to lose your manager – it’s a crucial time of the season.”
OPINION
Lots of pundits have been saying that Steve Clarke would be the ideal man to take over at Celtic, but it looks like Neil Lennon will take charge at least until the end of the season. It will be a monumental task for anyone to follow Rodgers. He’s had amazing success with the club and he’ll the benchmark that everyone else is judged on. Look at Man United and what happened after Alex Ferguson left. They still haven’t settled on a new long-term manager and they’ve had very little success since Ferguson. There have been lots of rumours floating around that Rodgers and Lawwell weren’t seeing things eye to eye and it looks like that might have come to a head. It’s a tough balancing act at Celtic. Rodgers obviously wanted to strengthen so he could challenge in Europe – the one place he’s failed to deliver any success at Parkhead. But that would take significant investment and Lawwell has to balance that with the long-term success and stability of the club.