Former Newbury Town winger quits as Celtic boss

Brendan Rodgers has ended his second spell as Celtic boss after just over two and a half years where he won two Scottish Premier League titles, a Scottish Cup and League Cup.

As a manager, Rodgers has made his mark north of the border as well as at Leicester City where he won the FA Cup. Born in Northern Ireland, Rodgers first made his name in the game as an 18-year-old defender at Reading and Newbury Town.

Keith Moss, Newbury boss when the club were in the Isthmian League was speaking to The Sun in 2019 when Rodgers was Leicester City boss: “Brendan was a decent left-winger but it was his strategy and game plans that made him different.

“There were times when I couldn’t keep up with him.

“Many times I sounded him out and picked his young brains without him knowing.

“I was the manager and he was just a lad and I was learning from him. Thanks, Brendan!”

According to the piece, Rodgers virtually lived at Newbury’s Faraday Road ground, marking out the pitch with wobbly white lines, helping a carpenter to build the clubhouse bar and talking endlessly with Moss about selections and systems – and always with a big smile on his face.

Rodgers career was curtailed early due to a genetic knee injury. His work ethic saw him 

 recommended to Chelsea by Jose Mourinho’s assistant and future Scotland manager Steve Clarke. He worked his way up the ladder at the West London side before taking over as manager at Watford and subsequently replacing Steve Coppell at Reading.

He went on to manager Swansea City, Liverpool and Leicester either side of two spells at Celtic.

Football in Newbury has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride since Rodgers heyday at the club. Newbury Town pushed up the divisions and reached an FA Vase Quarter Final in the mid-1990s before folding in 1995.

Since then several attempts to rejuvenate senior football in West Berkshire’s largest town have taken place. New teams, promotions and the loss of the club’s famous Faraday Road ground have been the story of the last three decades, one not unfamiliar to followers of the non-league game.

The club are back at Faraday Road, the club’s most successful recent manager Danny Langford is now the chairman and crucially the team appear to have the backing of the Liberal Democrat led council – in fact it was in the parties top three pledges in the election manifesto that saw them oust the Conservative Party in the 2024 General Election.

Read more on the future of football in Newbury here.