Brendan Rodgers says Leicester move from Celtic led by desire for new challenge
Brendan Rodgers says his move from Celtic to Leicester was „a very difficult decision“, but he was lured by the desire for a new challenge in the Premier League.
Celtic enjoyed unrivalled success under Rodgers, winning a double-treble in his first two seasons, having won the Scottish Premiership without suffering defeat in his opening campaign.
Despite being on course for a historic treble-treble this season, Rodgers left to replace Claude Puel at the King Power Stadium earlier this week, ending his three-year spell in Scotland.
Rodgers’ first game in charge of the Foxes is a trip to another of his former sides, Watford, live on Sky Sports on Sunday.
„It was a very difficult decision,“ Rodgers said. „If I was making this decision with my heart I would have been at Celtic for life because it is an incredible club and one I’ve supported all my life.
„It all happened very quickly. This was an opportunity that was presented to me and, of course, then emotionally you have to take that out.
„After nearly three years at Celtic, with everything we had achieved, I felt it was time to move on to my next challenge.
„I have had opportunities to leave but this one was too good to turn down, with the ambition that Leicester have.
„This is a group of players who are young and hungry. And they have needed stabilising with the emotions here on and off the pitch.
„It has been incredible with the journey to win the league and, of course, then the tragic events from earlier on.
„It was not easy at all [to leave Celtic]. I have got family who are still deeply upset. I have had to remove that emotion in my career as a football manager and I am very happy to have made the move.“
Rodgers’ decision to leave the Scottish Premiership champions midway through the season has led to criticism among some Celtic supporters.
Fans took to Hearts’ Tynecastle stadium on Wednesday for Celtic’s away fixture, equipped with a huge banner which read: ‘You traded immortality for mediocrity. Never a Celt, always a fraud’.
Celtic have also strongly condemned sickening chants that appeared on social media and were allegedly aimed at Rodgers.
„I have seen some of what has been said,“ Rodgers said. „Celtic supporters will hurt. I understand how they feel. They are obviously worried about what would happen with me leaving. But what we have put in place there in three years is going to stabilise the club.
„There is shock and they are probably angry, but I think eventually there will be a reality that will set in and the work that we did there will be appreciated.
„I certainly haven’t swapped to come into a mediocre club. This is a fantastic club with a rich history of its own.
„Celtic are one of the biggest clubs in world football, you can’t deny that, and it was one of the reasons I went there. For me, this was about the challenge and coming back into the Premier League.
„The challenge of coming in and working against top players and coaches, with a club with that ambition to move forward and keep progressing.“
Leicester are currently 11th in the Premier League table, 10 points above the relegation zone and 18 points away from Chelsea in sixth, but Rodgers hopes his new side can compete with the top six next season.
„The expectancy is to challenge for a European place and look to win a trophy,“ he said.
„What Leicester achieved was an incredible story. That will always be difficult to repeat.“
Asked if he will have money to spend in the summer, Rodgers added: „We have not spoken about that. There is no doubt that we will look to improve. I am sure we will spend some.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
