MONEY TALKS: Brendan Rodgers’ ‘loyalty’ would never hold firm in Scotland 

Celtic were always a name on the Brendan Rodgers bucket list. A box to be ticked off rather than a calling.

Whenever questions over his Parkhead future cropped up, the former Liverpool boss sought shelter on high ground.

Managing Celtic, he claimed, was his dream job. Both an honour and a privilege. And that makes the decision to leave mid-season, as the champions pursue a treble Treble, a contradictory business.

Celtic were always a name on the Brendan Rodgers bucket list – a box to be ticked off 

At best, Rodgers’ claims to be a dyed-in-the-wool Celtic man have begun to look hollow and overblown. At worst, disingenuous.

Among the supporters who regarded him as one of their own, it comes as a shock to learn that the manager might have stuck around for eight-in-a-row, but never had any real intention of hanging around Glasgow’s east end for nine or 10.

In jumping ship for a mid-table team in the English Premier League before the end of February, Rodgers must know how he’ll be seen now. By 9am on Tuesday, he had gone from Blessed Brendan to badge-kisser extraordinaire; a man who uttered soothing platitudes to fans while angling for a quick, sharp exit behind closed doors.

But for the tragic helicopter crash which claimed the life of Foxes owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, he might have left for Leicester some time ago. The accident offered Frenchman Claude Puel a stay of grace and delayed plans to poach a manager growing increasingly frustrated by the obstacles blocking his Celtic ambitions.

Last summer, Rodgers was vocal in his desire to bring in quality players. Offered a chance to move to China, the attempt to use that opportunity as leverage for more funds in the transfer market didn’t go to plan. His body language and public message began to change, the failure to sign John McGinn prompting some unsubtle public barbs in the direction of chief executive Peter Lawwell.

Celtic and their manager always shared the goal of Champions League progress. Where they differed was in their idea of how to get there.

Leicester unveiled new manager Brendan Rogers on Tuesday evening at King Power Stadium

Rodgers wanted Celtic to spend the £7million it would have taken to land Cristiano Piccini from Sporting Lisbon, but the right back chose Valencia at the last moment. When McGinn joined Aston Villa after the Parkhead club refused to meet Hibernian’s asking price, the failure to get players in the door became a source of tension.

Asked how he would react if he felt the club was no longer moving forward, he was forthright. ‘My job is done then. Terminado. Gone.’ An exit to AEK Athens in the Champions League qualifiers was followed by the fiascos with Dedryck Boyata and Moussa Dembele. Where Rodgers had once spoken of making Celtic a fixture in the last 16 of the Champions League, he was now faced with another scenario. Stagnation and then the inevitable regression.

In truth, Leicester offer no more prospect of success in Europe than Celtic. Champions of England in 2016, Claudio Ranieri’s reward for Champions League qualification was a quick P45.

What the Foxes do offer is a squad of high-value players earning Premier League wages.

Rodgers acknowledges crowd from stands during the match between Leicester and Brighton

There’s no question Rodgers was good for Celtic and Celtic were good for him. He raised standards and heightened the profile of the domestic game, winning seven trophies in a run unlikely to be eclipsed in this lifetime.

He sprinkled some stardust over Scottish football while leaving no one in any doubt that he was always passing through.

Ideally, he would have left after delivering another domestic clean sweep at the end of the season.

Rodgers, however, had been aware of Leicester’s interest since last summer and the Thai owners of the Midlands club were unwilling to wait.

Tuesday night’s defeat of Brighton was their first win in their last eight games. Leicester sit 11th in a league where every slide down the ladder costs £2.8m in prize money. That’s as much as Celtic earn for winning the Scottish Premiership outright.

Few would argue Leicester are a bigger club than Celtic. But, in football, one rule has never changed; money talks.

Managing Celtic, he claimed, was his dream job – both an honour and a privilege

‘Let’s get one thing clear,’ said former Parkhead boss Gordon Strachan, ‘Celtic are a giant club. One of the biggest in the world. Far bigger than Leicester.

‘But that’s not the comparison. The league in England is so far advanced of Scotland’s it’s untrue.

‘There’s a point when you’re in Scotland when you say: “I’m at a huge club here, but is it enough?” Was the league still testing Brendan? It did for the first season or two, because it was fresh, but it might not have felt fresh anymore.

‘Where would he go with them next season? His best team was probably in his first season.

‘Small things like having to play on three plastic pitches every season, which rattles him, or the fact you can’t progress in the Champions League. Europe has probably been the one disappointment for Brendan at Celtic but, without spending £150m, I don’t know what more he and his coaching team could do.

‘You also have to consider the madness of being an Old Firm manager, where you spend 75 per cent of your time answering questions about things that have nothing to do with football, which can be draining. It takes away from the beauty of the game.’ Neil Lennon’s appointment as interim boss – likely to be permanent if the final weeks of the season go well – offers Celtic the continuity they crave.

That makes the decision to leave, as champions pursue treble Treble, a contradictory business

Until recently, coach John Kennedy was in talks over a sporting director role with the blessing of Rodgers. The former defender will now become assistant manager, with reserve coach Damien Duff assuming first-team duties.

The concern for Lennon is clear. The pressure to reach eight, nine or 10 titles will only grow now.

Scheduled to fly to Doha to perform media duties for BeIn Sports on Tuesday, the Northern Irishman was forced to cancel his flight.

Lennon, before his departure from Hibs, had been struck by a coin in the Tynecastle technical area and he will be back there on Wednesday night. Beyond that follows a remarkably quick return to Easter Road for a Scottish Cup quarter-final just weeks after he left the Edinburgh club in acrimony.

Say what you like about the quality of Scottish football and its impact on the career plans of Rodgers. But, beyond all dispute, is the quality of the drama.