'A lot changed': Former Celtic favourite makes Brendan Rodgers claim and reveals desire for Parkhead return

The 53-year-old manager returned to the club in the summer of 2023 and won a domestic double in his first season in charge. However, his second spell as boss was brought to an abrupt end in October when he resigned from his position amid a war of words with majority shareholder Dermot Desmond, who cited Rodgers as being “divisive, misleading, and self-serving”.

Sinclair, who played under Rodgers during his first spell at Celtic, says he fully understood the reasons why he opted to return to the club for a second time, citing his own time at Celtic Park as the happiest he has ever been. However, he now wonders if his former boss made the right decision.

“Once you leave Celtic, you want to go back,” said 36-year-old Sinclair, who has been without a club since leaving Bristol Rovers last summer. “Even managers, and it's exactly the same for the players. It's probably one of the best experiences, the best place, and the happiest place I've been in when I was at Celtic. We did extraordinary things. The [English] Premier League is passionate, but when I did go up there, it is even more passionate. Everywhere you go, they live and breathe football. When you're playing in front of 60,000 at Celtic, it's unbelievable.

“When you first go up there, you don't really know how big it actually is until you're in the games and you're playing the Old Firm games. They are the main games to play in. I think anyone who leaves Celtic always wants to go back. I think he went back there and obviously he's moved on again because he wanted a change. I don’t think it felt the same as his first time. Sometimes when you go back to a club, you expect to have the same results and the same winning mentality, but obviously with different players. I think a lot changed since when I was there.”

Rodgers’ resignation in October was followed by the sacking of Wilfried Nancy in January after an ill-fated 33-day stint in charge, with Martin O’Neill twice drafted on an interim basis to take charge. However, after the veteran manager led Celtic to within two points of table-topping Hearts, Sinclair is tipping them for a fifth successive title win despite their managerial tumult.

“I think Celtic will win the league,” Sinclair told OLBG. “I believe they have enough quality and will take it right down to the last two games. They just have a little bit more quality than the other teams. The title race is entertaining. When I was there last, we dominated for years and even won the league in March or April. I think it will go down to the last couple of games.

“The goal [when I was there] was to go up there and win silverware, to get trophies. In the first year, we did the invincible treble. That's just something spectacular that we did as a team. To go and replicate that, winning three trophies for the three years I was there, it worked out much better than I could have even imagined.”

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