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Merely a quarter of an hour after the club released the news of their manager's shock resignation via a brief five-paragraph statement, the bombshell landed, from Dermot Desmond, with clear signs in obvious fury.

In 551-words, key investor Desmond savaged his former ally.

The man he persuaded to join the club when their rivals were gaining ground in 2016 and needed putting in their place. And the man he once more turned to after Ange Postecoglou departed to Tottenham in the recent offseason.

So intense was the severity of his takedown, the astonishing comeback of the former boss was almost an after-thought.

Two decades after his exit from the club, and after much of his latter years was given over to an continuous series of appearances and the performance of all his past successes at the team, O'Neill is returned in the dugout.

Currently - and maybe for a time. Based on things he has said recently, O'Neill has been keen to secure a new position. He will see this one as the perfect opportunity, a present from the Celtic Gods, a homecoming to the place where he enjoyed such success and adulation.

Will he relinquish it readily? It seems unlikely. Celtic could possibly reach out to sound out their ex-manager, but O'Neill will act as a balm for the time being.

'Full-blooded Effort at Character Assassination

O'Neill's return - however strange as it is - can be set aside because the most significant shocking development was the harsh manner Desmond wrote of the former manager.

This constituted a forceful attempt at defamation, a branding of Rodgers as untrustful, a source of untruths, a disseminator of misinformation; disruptive, deceptive and unjustifiable. "A single person's wish for self-interest at the cost of everyone else," stated he.

For a person who prizes decorum and sets high importance in dealings being conducted with confidentiality, if not complete secrecy, here was a further example of how unusual things have become at the club.

The major figure, the organization's most powerful presence, operates in the background. The absentee totem, the one with the authority to take all the major decisions he wants without having the obligation of explaining them in any public forum.

He does not participate in club AGMs, sending his offspring, Ross, in his place. He seldom, if ever, gives interviews about the team unless they're hagiographic in nature. And still, he's slow to communicate.

He has been known on an rare moment to defend the organization with private missives to news outlets, but nothing is made in public.

This is precisely how he's wanted it to be. And that's exactly what he contradicted when going full thermonuclear on Rodgers on that day.

The directive from the team is that Rodgers stepped down, but reading his criticism, carefully, you have to wonder why he permit it to reach such a critical point?

If Rodgers is culpable of all of the accusations that Desmond is claiming he's guilty of, then it's fair to inquire why was the manager not removed?

Desmond has charged him of distorting information in public that did not tally with the facts.

He says his statements "played a part to a toxic atmosphere around the club and fuelled animosity towards individuals of the executive team and the directors. A portion of the criticism aimed at them, and at their loved ones, has been entirely unjustified and unacceptable."

What an remarkable allegation, indeed. Lawyers might be mobilising as we speak.

His Ambition Conflicted with Celtic's Strategy Again

To return to happier days, they were tight, the two men. Rodgers lauded the shareholder at every turn, thanked him every chance. Brendan deferred to him and, truly, to no one other.

It was the figure who took the heat when his returned occurred, post-Postecoglou.

It was the most divisive appointment, the return of the returning hero for some supporters or, as other Celtic fans would have described it, the arrival of the shameless one, who left them in the difficulty for another club.

The shareholder had his support. Over time, Rodgers turned on the charm, delivered the wins and the trophies, and an fragile peace with the fans turned into a affectionate relationship once more.

There was always - always - going to be a moment when Rodgers' goals clashed with Celtic's business model, however.

This occurred in his first incarnation and it transpired once more, with bells on, recently. Rodgers spoke openly about the slow process the team went about their player acquisitions, the interminable waiting for prospects to be secured, then not landed, as was frequently the case as far as he was concerned.

Repeatedly he stated about the need for what he termed "flexibility" in the market. Supporters agreed with him.

Even when the organization splurged record amounts of money in a twelve-month period on the expensive one signing, the £9m another player and the £6m further acquisition - all of whom have cut it so far, with one since having departed - Rodgers demanded increased resources and, often, he did it in public.

He set a bomb about a lack of cohesion inside the club and then distanced himself. Upon questioning about his comments at his subsequent media briefing he would usually downplay it and almost contradict what he stated.

Lack of cohesion? No, no, all are united, he'd claim. It appeared like he was playing a dangerous game.

A few months back there was a story in a publication that allegedly originated from a insider associated with the club. It said that the manager was damaging Celtic with his open criticisms and that his real motivation was managing his exit strategy.

He didn't want to be there and he was engineering his exit, that was the implication of the story.

The fans were enraged. They now viewed him as akin to a sacrificial figure who might be removed on his honor because his directors did not back his plans to achieve triumph.

This disclosure was damaging, naturally, and it was intended to hurt him, which it did. He called for an inquiry and for the responsible individual to be removed. Whether there was a probe then we heard nothing further about it.

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

The regular {gripes