Brendan Rodgers “changed the Celtic landscape” – Callum McGregor

The late manager Brendan Rodgers “dramatically changed the landscape” at Celtic, while John Kennedy left a “huge hole”, according to captain Callum McGregor.

Rodgers resigned on Monday evening, with the exit of the long-serving Kennedy aide confirmed the next day.

Martin O’Neill and Sean Maloney have been appointed on a caretaker basis and are preparing for Sunday’s Premier League Cup semi-final against Rangers after starting their caretaker reign with a 4-0 home win over Falkirk on Wednesday.

“I discovered the same thing as everyone else,” McGregor said when asked about Rodgers’ surprise decision to quit, which he announced in a brief statement.

“I spoke to the manager about 10 or 15 minutes later. We had a conversation, which will remain private for obvious reasons. It was a shock at the time, and then very quickly I was five minutes away from going to bed.

“You have to deal with the consequences of that. I spoke to some of the players and then we came back on Tuesday and it was business as usual, you have a game to play the next day.”

Rodgers won four trophies, along with seven cups, during his two spells as manager, with McGregor a regular in the midfield in the first period and a captain in the second.

McGregor added: “I hope he will be judged for what he has done for the club.” “Going back 10 years, he changed the landscape of this club dramatically.

“The success we’ve had has been because of the values ​​and work ethic he instilled when he first came in – that’s what has kept us going so long.

“Unfortunately, in football everything has an end. Everyone likes a fairytale ending, but it rarely happens. Football can be brutal sometimes, that’s just the way it is.

“As a club, we have a lot to be thankful for.

“He’s been great in my career. He’s done a lot for me, so on a personal level, I have to thank him a lot and I’m sure anything he does next will be a great success.”