BRENDAN RODGERS believes Rangers caretaker gaffer Graeme Murty has been “thrown to the garbage”.
The Celtic manager has slammed the treatment of the Ibrox stand-in boss in the aftermath of the champions’ one-sided 5-0 trouncing of their Glasgow neighbours to seal their seventh consecutive Premiership title.
For the second derby this month, Murty’s position was undermined in the days leading up to the game.
After chairman Dave King cast fresh doubt on whether the ex-Scotland international defender would have his contract renewed in the summer – ahead of the Gers’ 4-0 Scottish Cup semi-final hammering from Rodgers’ rampant Celts in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals – it emerged that Steven Gerrard was the frontrunner to take over in the build-up to yesterday’s confrontation.
Murty twice stepped up as caretaker boss in 2017 – following the departures of Mark Warburton in February and Pedro Caixinha in October – and was then handed the job for five months after the club’s failed pursuit of Aberdeen’s Derek McInnes.
Following questions concerning his former Liverpool skipper Gerrard on talkSPORT, Rodgers said: “I’m a wee bit reluctant to talk on it too much purely because Graeme Murty has been put in a job.
Brendan Rodgers has sympathy with Rangers stand-in boss Graeme Murty. Pic: Geo.
“Last year, he was Under-20s coach and everyone was saying: ‘He’s a good guy and he’s doing very well’.
“And now because of a couple of defeats and it hasn’t quite worked out, he’s just been thrown to the garbage, really, and I think it’s very, very discourteous.
“The guy went in there and he’s done his very, very best in what looks like, from the outside, to be very, very trying and difficult circumstances.”
Rodgers added: “Whatever direction they want to go in, Rangers, whether it’s Graeme or someone from the outside, that guy will want some assurances. From Stevie’s perspective, I know he has always wanted to manage.
“He started his badges along with Kolo Toure when we were all working together at Liverpool and certainly it’s something that will happen in the future. I’m sure one day he will go on and manage Liverpool.
“But it’s all about timing for Stevie. If he feels this is the right opportunity then I’m sure he’ll look at it, but I haven’t spoken to him on it.”
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