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Merely a quarter of an hour after Celtic released the announcement of their manager's surprising departure via a perfunctory short communication, the howitzer arrived, courtesy of the major shareholder, with clear signs in obvious fury.

In an extensive statement, key investor Desmond savaged his former ally.

This individual he convinced to come to the team when Rangers were getting uppity in that period and needed putting in their place. And the man he again turned to after the previous manager left for another club in the recent offseason.

So intense was the ferocity of Desmond's critique, the astonishing return of Martin O'Neill was practically an secondary note.

Two decades after his departure from the club, and after a large part of his latter years was dedicated to an unending circuit of public speaking engagements and the playing of all his old hits at the team, Martin O'Neill is returned in the manager's seat.

For now - and perhaps for a time. Considering comments he has said recently, he has been eager to get a new position. He will view this one as the ultimate chance, a gift from the club's legacy, a homecoming to the environment where he enjoyed such glory and praise.

Will he relinquish it readily? It seems unlikely. The club could possibly make a call to contact Postecoglou, but the new appointment will act as a soothing presence for the moment.

'Full-blooded Effort at Character Assassination

The new manager's reappearance - as surreal as it may be - can be set aside because the most significant 'wow!' development was the brutal manner the shareholder wrote of the former manager.

This constituted a forceful endeavor at character assassination, a branding of him as untrustful, a source of untruths, a spreader of misinformation; divisive, misleading and unacceptable. "One individual's wish for self-preservation at the cost of others," stated Desmond.

For a person who values decorum and sets high importance in dealings being conducted with discretion, if not complete secrecy, this was another example of how unusual things have grown at Celtic.

The major figure, the organization's most powerful presence, moves in the margins. The absentee totem, the one with the authority to make all the important calls he pleases without having the responsibility of justifying them in any public forum.

He never attend club AGMs, dispatching his son, Ross, in his place. He seldom, if ever, does interviews about the team unless they're glowing in nature. And even then, he's slow to communicate.

There have been instances on an rare moment to support the organization with private messages to news outlets, but nothing is made in the open.

It's exactly how he's wanted it to remain. And it's exactly what he went against when going all-out attack on Rodgers on Monday.

The official line from the team is that Rodgers resigned, but reviewing Desmond's criticism, carefully, you have to wonder why he permit it to get this far down the line?

If the manager is culpable of every one of the accusations that Desmond is claiming he's responsible for, then it's fair to inquire why had been the manager not removed?

He has charged him of spinning things in open forums that did not tally with the facts.

He claims his words "have contributed to a hostile environment around the club and encouraged animosity towards members of the management and the directors. Some of the abuse directed at them, and at their families, has been entirely unjustified and improper."

Such an remarkable allegation, that is. Lawyers might be mobilising as we discuss.

His Ambition Clashed with Celtic's Strategy Once More'

Looking back to happier days, they were tight, Dermot and Brendan. Rodgers praised the shareholder at all opportunities, thanked him whenever possible. Brendan respected him and, really, to no one other.

It was the figure who drew the heat when his returned happened, after the previous manager.

This marked the most divisive hiring, the reappearance of the prodigal son for some supporters or, as some other supporters would have put it, the arrival of the shameless one, who departed in the lurch for another club.

Desmond had Rodgers' back. Gradually, the manager turned on the charm, achieved the victories and the trophies, and an uneasy peace with the fans became a affectionate relationship once more.

It was inevitable - consistently - going to be a point when his goals clashed with Celtic's operational approach, though.

It happened in his first incarnation and it happened again, with bells on, recently. Rodgers spoke openly about the sluggish way Celtic conducted their player acquisitions, the endless delay for targets to be secured, then missed, as was frequently the situation as far as he was concerned.

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

Despite the club spent record amounts of money in a twelve-month period on the £11m Arne Engels, the costly another player and the £6m Auston Trusty - all of whom have performed well so far, with Idah already having departed - the manager demanded more and more and, often, he expressed this in public.

He set a bomb about a lack of cohesion within the club and then walked away. Upon questioning about his remarks at his next media briefing he would usually minimize it and almost reverse what he said.

Lack of cohesion? No, no, everybody is aligned, he'd say. It appeared like Rodgers was engaging in a dangerous game.

Earlier this year there was a story in a newspaper that purportedly originated from a source associated with the organization. It claimed that the manager was damaging Celtic with his public outbursts and that his real motivation was orchestrating his departure plan.

He desired not to be present and he was engineering his exit, this was the implication of the story.

The fans were angered. They now saw him as similar to a sacrificial figure who might be carried out on his honor because his directors wouldn't support his plans to achieve success.

The leak was poisonous, naturally, and it was intended to hurt Rodgers, which it did. He called for an investigation and for the guilty person to be removed. If there was a probe then we heard nothing further about it.

At that point it was plain the manager was losing the support of the people in charge.

The frequent {gripes