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Merely fifteen minutes following Celtic released the announcement of their manager's shock departure via a brief short statement, the bombshell arrived, from the major shareholder, with whiskers twitching in obvious fury.

Through an extensive statement, major shareholder Desmond eviscerated his old chum.

This individual he convinced to join the team when their rivals were gaining ground in 2016 and needed putting back in a box. Plus the man he again relied on after Ange Postecoglou departed to Tottenham in the recent offseason.

Such was the severity of his critique, the astonishing return of Martin O'Neill was practically an secondary note.

Two decades after his departure from the club, and after a large part of his recent life was dedicated to an continuous series of public speaking engagements and the performance of all his past successes at the team, Martin O'Neill is returned in the dugout.

For now - and maybe for a time. Based on things he has expressed lately, O'Neill has been keen to get another job. He'll see this role as the perfect chance, a present from the club's legacy, a homecoming to the environment where he experienced such glory and adulation.

Would he give it up easily? You wouldn't have thought so. The club might well make a call to sound out Postecoglou, but O'Neill will serve as a soothing presence for the moment.

'Full-blooded Effort at Character Assassination

The new manager's reappearance - as surreal as it is - can be set aside because the biggest shocking moment was the brutal manner the shareholder described Rodgers.

This constituted a forceful endeavor at character assassination, a labeling of him as deceitful, a source of untruths, a disseminator of misinformation; divisive, misleading and unjustifiable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the expense of everyone else," stated he.

For somebody who values propriety and places great store in dealings being done with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, here was another example of how unusual situations have grown at Celtic.

Desmond, the club's most powerful presence, moves in the margins. The remote leader, the individual with the power to take all the important decisions he pleases without having the responsibility of explaining them in any open setting.

He never attend team AGMs, sending his son, Ross, in his place. He rarely, if ever, gives interviews about the team unless they're glowing in tone. And even then, he's reluctant to speak out.

There have been instances on an occasion or two to support the club with confidential messages to news outlets, but no statement is heard in the open.

This is precisely how he's wanted it to remain. And that's exactly what he went against when launching full thermonuclear on the manager on Monday.

The directive from the team is that Rodgers resigned, but reading his invective, carefully, you have to wonder why he allow it to reach this far down the line?

If the manager is guilty of every one of the things that Desmond is alleging he's responsible for, then it is reasonable to ask why was the coach not removed?

He has accused him of spinning information in public that did not tally with the facts.

He claims Rodgers' statements "have contributed to a hostile atmosphere around the team and encouraged animosity towards members of the executive team and the board. Some of the abuse aimed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unwarranted and unacceptable."

Such an extraordinary allegation, that is. Lawyers might be mobilising as we discuss.

His Ambition Clashed with Celtic's Model Again

To return to better days, they were tight, the two men. The manager lauded the shareholder at all opportunities, expressed gratitude to him whenever possible. Rodgers deferred to Dermot and, really, to nobody else.

This was the figure who took the heat when his returned occurred, after the previous manager.

It was the most divisive appointment, the return of the prodigal son for a few or, as some other supporters would have described it, the arrival of the unapologetic figure, who departed in the lurch for Leicester.

The shareholder had Rodgers' back. Over time, Rodgers employed the charm, delivered the victories and the honors, and an fragile truce with the supporters turned into a affectionate relationship once more.

It was inevitable - consistently - going to be a moment when Rodgers' goals came in contact with the club's operational approach, however.

This occurred in his initial tenure and it transpired once more, with added intensity, recently. Rodgers publicly commented about the slow process the team conducted their player acquisitions, the endless waiting for targets to be secured, then missed, as was too often the case as far as he was concerned.

Repeatedly he stated about the need for what he called "flexibility" in the transfer window. The fans concurred with him.

Despite the organization splurged unprecedented sums of money in a calendar year on the £11m Arne Engels, the costly Adam Idah and the £6m further acquisition - none of whom have cut it so far, with one since having departed - Rodgers demanded more and more and, often, he expressed this in openly.

He set a bomb about a internal disunity within the team and then distanced himself. When asked about his comments at his subsequent media briefing he would usually downplay it and almost reverse what he stated.

Internal issues? No, no, all are united, he'd claim. It appeared like he was engaging in a dangerous strategy.

A few months back there was a report in a publication that purportedly came from a insider associated with the organization. It said that Rodgers was damaging Celtic with his public outbursts and that his true aim was orchestrating his exit strategy.

He desired not to be present and he was engineering his way out, this was the implication of the story.

The fans were angered. They now viewed him as similar to a martyr who might be carried out on his shield because his board members wouldn't support his vision to achieve triumph.

This disclosure was damaging, naturally, and it was intended to harm Rodgers, which it did. He called for an investigation and for the guilty person to be dismissed. Whether there was a examination then we heard no more about it.

By then it was plain Rodgers was shedding the backing of the individuals in charge.

The frequent {gripes