As Celtic make their way through pre-season, all eyes may be on the title defence and Champions League ambitions—but lurking in the background is a bigger psychological thread.
Brendan Rodgers is entering the third and final year of his contract, and the question of his future is set to shape the mood around Lennoxtown, whether it’s publicly acknowledged or not.
Rodgers returned to Celtic Park in the summer of 2023, vowing to rebuild both his reputation and the club’s dominance. Two years on, with back-to-back league titles and silverware in the bag, he’s more than delivered. But what comes next?
Back in 2014, during his time as Liverpool manager, Rodgers gave an interview that now reads like a quiet roadmap for his long-term ambitions.
“I hope one day to work in Spain,” he told ESPN. “I’ve studied Spanish, but I need to improve. I’ll probably improve when I work in the country one day.
“For most people, when they travel to a country their language becomes better. I speak to the Spanish players that we have in Spanish.
“I’m only 41, which is very young, and there are lots of things I want to achieve here at Liverpool. It’s an incredible club and I hope to be managing here for another 20-odd years.
“One day, I hope it can take me to Spain and I can experience a wonderful country, culture and some wonderful football club.”
Now 52, Rodgers still has time on his side. If he completes the 2025/26 season and walks away with more trophies and a third league title in three years, he leaves not as the manager who limped out of Leicester, but as a man who came in and kept the standards high after Ange Postecoglou.
And if Spain still calls, so be it. Celtic fans may have been wary when he first returned after his mid-season departure in 2019, but time—and results—heal.
Rodgers has faced down criticism, maintained standards, and managed the pressure with the calm of someone who’s been around long enough to know when and how to bow out. If he sees out the full term and then takes the next step in his career, there should be no bitterness.
The psychology of this season may well hinge on Rodgers’ intentions—spoken or unspoken. Whether there’s open speculation or just a quiet awareness behind the scenes, his final campaign (if it is that) will be judged not just on silverware, but on legacy.
If he delivers one more time and moves on, the door should be held open. A manager rehabilitated. A mission completed.
