Image source, Getty Images

Earlier today, Martin O'Neill spoke to TalkSport about his recent appointment as interim manager of Celtic.

Here's a look at the best lines from that chat...

• 'I thought - is this real or surreal?'
• O'Neill will just 'keep the seat warm' for permanent appointment
• 'If I'd seen the fixture list, I possibly then wouldn't have taken it!'
• 'I would assume Celtic are looking for a young coach'
• 'Maloney and I go back years and years'

Paul Lambert
Former Scotland midfielder

I never heard anything about a toxic atmosphere. I've watched some of the games the lads have been playing, you don't have a divine right to win games.

Whether that's the case I don't know, but it doesn't matter. Whatever happens behind the scenes doesn't matter, you never play for a manager.

I never played for a manager. There were managers that I loved as people and managers I didn't like, but I never played for them. I played for my teammates, the fans and the club - that was the most important thing.

Whatever happens, it should never effect you as a footballer.

Paul Lambert played for Celtic under current interim manager Martin O'Neill.

He spoke to the BBC today about how the club's players will have been affected by the events of the past few days...

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

Celtic fan James, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning, said: “I think that Brendan Rodgers is full of integrity. He had done everything right. He had one bad game.

“Brendan Rodgers was treated badly by the board. As far as I’m concerned, that man can leave with his head held high.

“He’d done a lot of good things for Celtic, they’ve lost one of the best managers.”

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

Celtic fans were angered by the manner of Brendan Rodgers first departure - to Leicester - but reaction to his latest resignation has been more mixed, with some supporters blaming him for the club's current plight and others the board...

Image source, Getty Images

The Daily Record, external has published insights into Brendan Rodgers' resignation that not only came as a shock to supporters but for those at the club too.

Only an hour or so before news broke on Monday night that Rodgers had walked away from Celtic for a second time, the manager was still exchanging text messages and giving absolutely no indication that he was writing a letter of resignation at the same time.

This resignation will be bitter for Celtic fans as Rodgers also stepped away from the club in his first spell to take over at Leicester City.

Tom English
BBC Scotland chief sports writer on Scottish Football Podcast

Image source, Getty Images

It's such an unseemly mortifying end. A public spat. I say that, it's a one-way spat so far.

There will be some kind of response from Rodgers at some stage. It's embarrassing it has played out in public, it shouldn't be that way.

Whatever you think about Rodgers and some of the comments he's come out with recently, he deserved better than this. It's a horrible ending.

Brendan Rodgers had openly criticised Celtic's transfer strategy during the summer window and said the club had not approached him to discuss a new contract, with his current deal running up to the end of the current season.

Majority shareholder Dermot Desmond stayed quiet before finally opening up with an extraordinary 551-word statement on Monday, following the Rodgers' resignation.

Here's a flavour of what the Irish businessman had to say:

• Desmond rejected Rodgers' claim that the club had made no commitment over a new contract
• He insisted that every player signed and sold over the summer transfer window was done so with Rodgers' approval
• The Irish businessman claimed that Rodgers raised no concerns with the Celtic board over the club's transfer policy
• And he said that Rodgers' words and actions were "divisive, misleading and self-serving" and "contributed to a toxic atmosphere at the club".

NB: BBC Sport has approached Rodgers for his reaction to that statement, but he is yet to respond.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Scottish sports writer and podcaster Graham Spiers addressed the state of the Celtic team in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live earlier today: “Behind the scenes there has been a total breakdown of trust between Brendan and the Celtic board.

“Brendan was always going to leave sooner or later. Brendan has been floundering in his duties in a number of ways but there’s no doubt he was horrendously let down by Celtic in the August transfer window.

“August was an incompetent month for Celtic. Rodgers was left with a distinctly average team”.

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport

Last season it took Celtic 27 league matches to lose twice - they reached that mark after nine games this season with Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Hearts.

The data suggests that underpinning poor performances this season has seen a significant drop-off in Celtic’s effectiveness in attack.

The reigning champions have scored just 12 goals in the Scottish Premiership, ranking them fifth overall, with Motherwell, currently seventh in the division, among the four sides to have scored more goals at this stage.

Celtic’s lack of goals stems from an inability in this campaign to take their chances.

They have recorded 329 touches in the opposition box – the most of any team in the Scottish top flight – and yet they have converted just nine of 34 big chances (as defined by Opta) in this campaign.

Only Aberdeen, currently second-bottom in the table, have a worse conversion rate than Celtic’s 26.5%.

Image source, BBC Sport

There is mitigation in the sense that Celtic sold key forward Kyogo Furuhashi to Rennes in January and then lost replacement Jota to a serious knee injury three months later.

But with transfer business closed until the new year, the incoming Martin O’Neill will have to work with what he’s got and Celtic’s players are underperforming across the board.

Ten of the current squad have underperformed their expected goals tally in 2025-26, with Kelechi Iheanacho the biggest culprit (-1.36).

Benjamin Nygren is the only Celtic player to have scored more than two league goals this season.

Image source, PA Media

You may have seen lots of Honda Civic chat on social media in reference to Brendan Rodgers and Celtic and wondered why?

On 19 October, having failed to fire in attack once again in a 2-0 defeat to Dundee, Brendan Rodgers likened his team to that particular model of car.

Speaking in one of his post-match interviews, he said: "I think the challenge from the summer, now leading into here, where we lost a lot of firepower, a lot of goals out of the team.

"And 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."

"Until something changes, I have to find the solutions," he added.

"Because like I said, goals, speed, everything has come out of the team and we need to find a way to be better."

Image source, Getty Images

Celtic’s defeat at Hearts on Sunday afternoon proved to be the tipping point for Brendan Rodgers, with the 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle effectively ending his second spell as Celtic manager.

The game was a microcosm of Celtic’s struggles this season in which they dominated possession but mustered little in terms of attacking threat.

Celtic are accustomed to monopolising possession in the Scottish Premiership under Rodgers but this season has thrown up the unwanted quandary of being far less effective with the ball.

Celtic had 65% possession and recorded just two shots on target, one “big chance” (as defined by Opta), 21 touches in the opposition box and an expected goals tally of 0.64.

Hearts achieved far more with far less possession.

Derek McInnes’ side had seven shots on target, 10 shots inside the box and 37 touches in Celtic’s box on their way to scoring three goals.

It suggests that teams have managed to work out Celtic’s possession-based style under Rodgers.

Does incoming replacement Martin O’Neil need to change their tactical approach?

Thumbs up for yes, down for no.

Image source, BBC Sport

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

So, in football terms, how did we get to this point?

Putting the personalities at play here to one side, things had started to unravel on the pitch for Brendan Rodgers' side.

Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Hearts left them trailing the table-topping Edinburgh club by eight points.

Let's have a look at where things had been going wrong for Celtic...

We are also bringing you the latest from today's manager news conferences before the last-16 ties in the EFL Cup, which start this evening.

• You can follow more on that by clicking here.

OK, so we have brought you up to speed with the leading names being linked to the Celtic manager's job.

If you're just joining us and want to know how we got to this point, then check out the links below.

But to summarise, Brendan Rodgers resigned as Celtic manager late on Monday and the club announced that he would be replaced by Martin O'Neill as interim manager while they started the search for a new permanent manager.

Celtic's brief statement announcing Rodgers' departure was followed by an explosive follow-up from the club's normally publicity-shy majority shareholder Dermot Desmond

Here's some of the key posts from today to help you catch up:

• Celtic's majority shareholder Dermot Desmond calls Rodgers 'self-serving'
• Why did Rodgers' relationship with board break down?
• What O'Neill said on Scottish title race

• O'Neill will just 'keep the seat warm' for permanent appointment
• 'I thought - is this real or surreal?' - O'Neill on call from Celtic

We have brought you up to speed with some of the main names in the frame to become Celtic's next permanent manager:

• Ange Postecoglou
• Kieran McKenna
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
• Kjetil Knutsen
• Shaun Maloney
• Robbie Keane
• Ten Hag, Bellamy & Duff

Vote with the thumbs on each individual manager post and also have your say by taking part in the poll at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

As always with gossip, there's been so many names linked to the Celtic managerial job that it remains anyone's guess who will land the permanent position.

Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has had his name come up. He was sacked by Bayer Leverkusen in September this year after just three games in charge of the club.

Current Wales head coach Craig Bellamy has also been linked with a move to Celtic. The former Wales international has links to the club, having made a shock deadline-day loan move to the club from Newcastle in January 2005. During his short spell he won the Scottish Cup.

Another former Celtic man Damian Duff has also been linked with the job. While never playing for the club, Duff spent time as a first-team coach under Neil Lennon with Celtic. He most recently managed League of Ireland club Shelbourne, but stepped down as manager in June 2025.