JOHN HARTSON: I accused Brendan Rodgers of pulling the wool over my eyes but Celtic have to move on

I think we were all guilty of giving Brendan Rodgers a bit of stick and saying some harsh words when he left Celtic for Leicester City in 2019.

I said at the time that it felt like he had pulled the wool over my eyes and that he had let the Celtic family down.

That was because everyone connected with the club were all so disappointed at losing such a brilliant manager.

Some fans will be disgruntled that Brendan is back for a second spell at Celtic Park. But that was then and this is now.

I was over in Jersey at the weekend with Joe Ledley and Jackie McNamara at a fantastic Tommy Burns dinner and dance evening with around 200 Celtic fans.

Brendan Rodgers has returned to Celtic for a second spell despite his controversial exit in 2019

Rodgers won a host of trophies during his first Parkhead stint before leaving for Leicester

The vast majority were very happy with Brendan’s reappointment.

You are always going to get some supporters who will be disgruntled but it’s about moving forward and forgetting the past.

Of course some people don’t want to forget the past and they can hang on to a grudge. The only way Brendan can appease those people is by winning – and he has a proven track record as a serial winner.

You find that people tend to forget about things when their team is winning and picking up trophies.

Despite the way it ended the last time, I must admit I wasn’t totally surprised that Brendan entered into the running when Ange Postecoglou left Celtic for Tottenham.

There was interest in Brendan from Leeds United but I always felt that, if Celtic went back in for him, he would come back.

What he achieved at Celtic the last time was great. He really enjoyed the back-to-back Trebles and all the adulation that came with it.

John Hartson believes the club must move on under Rodgers and forget about the past

Supporters labelled Rodgers a ‘fraud’ and felt as if they had been let down by the manager

He loved the welcome that he got the first time around in Glasgow and all these things have enticed him to come back up.

I do think Brendan is the best man for the job. There’s no doubt Celtic are getting a very good manager.

He took Swansea City into the Premier League. He did a very good job at Liverpool, finishing second in the Premier League and coming so close to winning the title.

He also did very well at Leicester City before it all unravelled for him at the start of last season.

Before that, he reached a Europa Conference League semi final and he won Leicester the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

Now he is back at Celtic and he is taking over a fantastic, winning team with a lot of momentum after winning the Treble last season.

During his time at Leicester, Rodgers won the FA Cup and reached a European semi-final

Ange Postecoglou impressed with exciting, winning football, with his Celtic side scoring goals

Domestically, Brendan will want to continue Celtic’s dominance. The Celtic fans really enjoyed the way Celtic played under Ange.

It was really quick, exciting, winning football, with Celtic scoring a lot of goals. Brendan will have his own tactics and philosophy. He will maybe tinker with the system and perhaps bring in one or two players.

But the bottom line will be the same as under Ange – with Celtic playing entertaining, attacking football that the fans all love to see.

Away from domestic football it goes without saying that Celtic will want to improve in Europe. Last season under Ange they frightened quite a few teams but without really being convincing.

I know they were in a group with Real Madrid but I felt they had a great chance of going through, with the other two teams in the group being RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk, yet they failed to do it.

I’d like to see Celtic improve in Europe and give the fans some special nights under the lights at Celtic Park. That will be a key part of Brendan’s remit and he will be given the funds to do that.

Rodgers will bring his philosophy and style as he looks to write another memorable chapter

In my view, Celtic need another centre forward and another centre half. Those are certainly the areas I would be targeting.

If anything happens to Kyogo Furuhashi, Oh Hyeon-gyu is there. The South Korean has promise but he has not played at the highest level yet and hasn’t a lot of experience.

So I would be looking for another forward ahead of the Champions League group stage campaign kicking off this summer.

It’s certainly going to be exciting as Celtic look forward to writing a second chapter under Brendan Rodgers.

What happened in 2019 is in the past. This is about the future for Celtic and it’s a very positive appointment from Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell.

John Hartson is a McDonalds Fun Football Ambassador. He won three Scottish titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup during his spell at Celtic from 2001-2006.