Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon believes the passion of Parkhead punters makes it difficult to accept key figures heading for the exit door.
But the Irishman believes Brendan Rodgers possesses the ability to win back any dissenters among the club's support after his acrimonious departure for Leicester City in 2019. Rodgers is heading back to Glasgow's east end and will replace Ange Postecoglou. And Lennon is in no doubt Rodgers' elite ability will prove a winning combination for a man who earned seven consecutive trophies before being succeeded by Lennon himself.
The 51-year-old admits the initial link over a reunion between Rodgers and Celtic caught him on the hop, however, he is convinced the reunion will be a success. Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: "First, I was bit surprised, just with the way Brendan left the last time for Leicester. What the board do is they try and go out and get the best candidate for the job. Brendan ticks all the boxes, he's a fantastic manager. He's been there before and had fantastic results the last time.
"I think, from his point of view, Champions League was a big lure for him. They have already qualified for the Champions League. He will really want to get his teeth into that. He will endeavour to win the league and endeavour to further Celtic's reputation in Europe. With the quality of teams and quality of managers he will come up against, he will relish it.
Lennon admits the unceremonious nature which followed his exit for Leicester City will cause some fans to be wary. But he understands why supporters do not want to see their stars in the dugout and the pitch depart. He added: "He will be, initially, you can't get way from that, it was quite acrimonious with the fans in the way he left. The Celtic fans are so emotional and just love the club and don't understand why anybody would want to leave. So it was a tough time for everybody around the club.
"It will be important for him to recruit well. If he is going to make inroads into the Champions League then they have to get some quality in there and will probably be one of the major talking points he had with the board over the last few weeks.
"He did great things at Leicester in the first seasons he was there. Almost got into the Champions League twice, won the FA Cup. I think he was put in a difficult position because they didn't invest in his last season there. He is his own man and he will have his own ideas of what he wants to do. He will have great belief in himself and how he wants to go about his job. How it might look from the outside looking in, to other people, it might look a step back but, for me, Celtic is a huge club and managing in the Champions League, you don't get that at too many clubs and he will relish that environment."
And Lennon believes rivals Rangers are on the right path but admits Michael Beale will be acutely aware a signature result must be sought when duking out it with Rodgers after Postecoglou secured a fifth Treble in seven seasons. He added: "Well, Rangers finished the season pretty well. The only problem Michael had was he couldn't get one over Celtic win it really mattered. They finished the season with 92 points. There is a rebuild there with Morelos, Kent and McGregor gone, big personalities around the club.
"Michael will want to put his stamp on the squad. Cantwell finished the season well. I think Kieran Dowell is a good signing, Butland will improve the goalkeeping department. He's still got a massive challenge on his hands. With the fact Brendan, an elite manager manager is going in there, and Celtic being dominant over the last couple of seasons. It's a huge challenge for Michael and the Rangers team but I am sure one they will be looking forward to."
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