Brendan Rodgers put on the spot by Martin O'Neill over Celtic departure and gets awkward reaction

Martin O'Neill has called out Brendan Rodgers for leaving Celtic back in 2019 - but hailed the Hoops boss for winning back his critics.

Rodgers had the Parkhead club on track for another Premiership title when he made the shock decision to quit Glasgow's east end for a second crack at English football with Leicester City back in February 2019. That led to a furious reaction from fans, many of whom were less than convinced by his return to Celtic when he was selected to replace Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2023.

But those doubters have now been silenced with the Hoops on track for another treble - and still dreaming of Champions League success with a play-off clash with Bayern Munich remaining delicately poised at 2-1. But Martin O'Neill, who won three SPL titles and three Scottish Cup during a glittering five years at Parkhead, couldn't resist the chance to question Rodgers about his decision to leave.

Speaking to TNT Sport, O'Neill said: "How have you felt coming back here second time around? Have you seen changes, I assume some of the people who were here before are still here." Rodgers replied: "I’ve enjoyed every second of it. Clearly when I was here the first time I had a great spell, and then probably more in my own mind it was football and I’d taken Celtic as far as I could."

But O'Neill interrupted, saying: "No you just wanted to leave young man. You just wanted to leave. That’s the point." After an awkward laugh, Rodgers admitted he regretted how his first spell ended, saying: "I felt that I’d taken the club from a football perspective as far as I could, so I felt with my football mind I moved on and went to Leicester. But I should’ve known better myself that it was only really when I left that I realised