Brendan Rodgers knows he will have to overcome fan anger to succeed on Celtic return, admits Martin O’Neill
MARTIN O'NEILL insists his countryman Brendan Rodgers knows he'll have to win over the doubters in the Celtic support as he returns to the Parkhead club.
Some Hoops fans branded him a "fraud" and a "rat" and when he left the club - despite three seasons of huge domestic success.
He has a chance to win them over now - although such lingering resentment may not be far away if things go awry.
But O'Neill reckons there's no reason why he shouldn't be welcomed back with open arms - and says he'll be desperate to overcome scepticism among fans about the manner of his departure for Leicester City the first time around.
O'Neill told Greatest Hits radio: “Well, why not?
"When Brendan left the football club some fans weren’t happy, so he has to overcome that.
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"I think he knows that himself.
"But like anything else, you start winning football matches, that’s forgotten. The sooner you win the games, the better.
“He’s coming into a really winning side, he was successful himself as the manager.
"At the end of it all, there’ll be the occasional feeling he left under more difficult circumstances, but I think if you win the football matches, you’re forgiven.”
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Meanwhile, former Celtic defender Moritz Jenz has completed an £8.5million switch to Wolfsburg from Lorient.
Berlin-born Jenz, 24, starred on loan at Schalke in the second half oflast season after seeing his loan switch to the Hoops cut short.
Jenz featured 19 times for Celtic before calling it a day in Glasgow when fans were hopeful of him making the move permanent.
He played every minute of the club's Champions League campaign - with Carl Starfelt largely absence after the Swede was struck with a knee injury at the beginning of the season.
But while the big German defender ended up with a league winners' medal from his time in Scotland, he spent the second half of the season with Schalke, who ultimately ended up RELEGATED from the German top tier.
But he clearly did enough to impress, having been handed the chance to return to the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg.
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