Brendan Rodgers: Relatives have shunned me for leaving Celtic

The Northern Irishman went from hero to villain in the eyes of many Celtic fans when he left Glasgow for Leicester in February last year.

And the 47-year-old has revealed some in that number include his own relatives. Speaking to the Beautiful Game Podcast, Rodgers said: “I had family who were just distraught I left Celtic, just couldn’t believe it.

"I have relations that haven’t spoken to me since the day I left Celtic. Because it meant so much to them. And if you carry on like that too much, you’ll never do anything.

“But I had some unforgettable memories at Celtic that will live with me for a lifetime, that I still think about now and I then came into my next experience.

“I left school with nothing. No qualifications, no nothing. My life has been based on experiences, hence the reason why I look for the experiences. And this, I felt, from a sporting perspective was going to be the next good experience.”

Celtic went on to clinch a third consecutive domestic treble under Neil Lennon in the months after Rodgers left and he insists he would not have left at that stage if they were not in such a good position.

“I was only the third manager in the history of the club to complete the treble," he said.

“We were able to do it as an invincible treble and then we did it again. And then people said you could have stayed and done a third one, then done a fourth one.

“When I spoke with my staff and took the ultimate decision, I felt the team was in a good place, there’s a mentality now within the team and you feel, not just with hindsight, the club could continue – go and win the treble again.”