Rodgers simply can't back down now in his battle with the Celtic board. And if that means breaking his promise and walking away, then so be it...

It is all about the exit strategy now for Brendan Rodgers. How he gets out of this without it all going pear-shaped like last time, with the beautiful smiles of ‘the Celtic family’ replaced by foaming-mouthed punters chanting about him being shot in his sleep.

Reports over the weekend that club insiders are concerned he is trying to ‘engineer his exit’ are no shock.

There’s a storm coming at Parkhead — the rumble of restless feet heading for the car park with bedsheets spray-painted and biceps braced for some crush barrier chucking — and it stands to reason that certain individuals are working out the best way to position themselves against it.

For months now, Rodgers has been insistent on putting heat on his paymasters to bring in players of ‘high quality’.

Now that the market has closed, in the wake of a shambolic final day to wrap up an all-round catastrophe of a window at the champions, these fresh headlines have the distinct whiff of someone, somewhere inside the building making a move to turn the torchlight on him.

And this is where Rodgers has to be careful. Super careful. Having lit the touchpaper by demanding investment and laying the blame for an unforgivable Champions League exit to Kairat Almaty at inadequate recruitment, he’s been giving the impression of someone backing away from the flame of late.

Indeed, if he doesn’t watch out, he might soon end up accused, himself, of gaslighting a fanbase already on the brink.

A week ago, he was insisting suggestions of a disconnect between him and the directors couldn’t ‘be further from the truth’. ‘Everyone is connected,’ he said. ‘Every single guy, from me, to the board, to Dermot (Desmond), we love Celtic, but we want Celtic to be the very, very best.’

That was ahead of deadline day, where Adam Idah was sold to Swansea — after Rodgers had stated that couldn’t happen without a replacement coming in — and Daizen Maeda, who, it turns out, made it clear he wanted away months ago, was informed he couldn’t accept an offer agreed with another club and leave.

Throw Yang Hyun-jun, who saw a move to Birmingham kyboshed, into the mix, and you’ve now got two players — at least — in and around the first-team who don’t want to be there.

Are these really the actions of an organisation with everyone singing in perfect harmony?

That’s before we have even discussed the botched attempt to land Kasper Dolberg, Chelsea’s David Datro Fofana opting for Charlton and the all-out panic that saw Kelechi Iheanacho brought in the morning after the night before as a result of Sevilla cancelling his contract.

Getting Iheanacho is the equivalent of spending weeks believing the wrapped parcel under the Christmas tree is a new Nintendo Switch — only to discover it was actually a knitted jumper from your auntie. That doesn’t fit.

You must smile sweetly and say nice things, presenting a face to the world as it falls apart around you.

Rodgers went too far during the week, though. Way, way too far.

‘He has great experience and he is right in his peak years,’ said the manager. Peak years?

Iheanacho hasn’t played since May. He failed to score in nine La Liga games at Sevilla last term and then managed one in 15 during a disastrous loan spell at Middlesbrough, where his substitution during a game against Leeds was cheered by his own fans.

The Nigerian may only be 28, but his peak years were long ago.

Rodgers, though, has placed himself in the dangerous territory of selling shoeshine as sugar here. And this is no environment for that. There is a forest fire of supporter fury in danger of enveloping Celtic and the slightest change of wind direction can have the flames licking anyone’s feet.

When Rodgers agreed to return to Parkhead two years ago, there were many of us who couldn’t understand why. Seeing his stay end like this — and it must be ending, because why would he ever agree a new contract? — is no real shock.

He wanted to rebuild the club as a European force. Well, that’s gone for a Burton, particularly with the squad at his disposal, so that leaves just one other main objective to fulfil — being loved again.

Rodgers was hurt by the venom directed towards him by the Celtic fanbase when he left for Leicester City in 2019. He wanted to make that good.

At the moment, the rank and file are on his side. Last night’s rambling brainrot on the club website – citing FFP rules and blaming media for the chaos of the past month – is not going to ease the pressure on the board in the slightest.

Rather, the longer CEO Michael ‘Mr Invisible’ Nicholson hiding under the bedsheets waiting for major shareholder Dermot Desmond to tell him it’s OK to come out, or hiding behind brain-numbing statements attributed to no one, the more fan anger is going to grow.

At least Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell had the good sense to do an in-house interview during the week, addressing most of the key issues causing consternation on the other side of Glasgow, other than why he has committed £10million on a striker in Youssef Chermiti who hardly plays and never scores.

Celtic don’t work that way, though. They batten down the hatches. Hope these storms will pass.

And maybe the anonymous insider who spoke about unhappiness with Rodgers is waiting, along with others, to see how punters react if the team keeps playing as badly as it has been in recent times.

As much as the directors remain the main targets of unrest, those pitiful displays against Kairat and the latest in a long line of no-shows in Old Firm derbies in last weekend’s goalless draw at Ibrox have, to some observers, instigated a little bit of a temperature change around the manager too.

He’s been getting more flak. His tactics and team selections have been taken apart. The players he spent a combined £40m on last summer often don’t get near the starting XI.

Yes, fans appreciated his honesty in addressing what Celtic needed during the window, but will they remain in his corner if the football remains as awful as it has been of late?

He’s in a precarious position, too, and it all makes for a fascinating week in prospect.

Rodgers will be back on media duties. He knows what the main topics of discussion will be and needs to work out where he places himself.

What he can’t do is carry on looking like a cowed figure trying to sook back in with the board, telling the world that the suits upstairs bleed for the club and that Iheanacho is some kind of masterstroke.

If he really wants the fragile respect he has won back from the fanbase to sustain, he can’t back down and just toe the party line.

And if that means breaking his promise to stay the full three years and walking away, so be it. He could do that right now and get away with it.

If his underperforming team ends up dragged into a title fight with rivals who should be nowhere near them, that might not be the case for long.