'It wasn’t right the way it was handled. It just felt like a kick in the teeth,' Benjamin Siegrist

The shot-stopper joined Celtic on a free transfer from Dundee United during the summer of 2022.

Siegrist managed only two competitive games for Celtic which came in the Premier Sports League Cup against Ross County and Motherwell and is currently on loan at Serie A club Genoa from Romanian side FC Rapid.

On a recent episode of The Bondi Podcast, Siegrist discussed the conversation with Postecoglou that ultimately persuaded him to move to Celtic.

“I had this famous phone call with Ange Postecoglou”

“I had this famous phone call with Ange Postecoglou,” said Siegrist. When he calls, you say yes. It’s one of those, when he speaks, you just buy into it. He’s a fantastic coach, a fantastic motivator. As soon as he starts speaking, the deal’s done.

“He said, ‘Look, you’re not guaranteed anything, but, you know, if you put the work in, I guarantee you will get an opportunity’.

“He’s going to try and make you a better player, and he said to me, ‘Look, you can go sign for another team, play another 100 games, or you can come here, learn something, develop yourself, and I was like, ‘Yeah, sign me up’.’ There’s an expectancy of delivering for this club and I wanted to be part of it.”

A year after signing for the Scottish champions, Ange left for Tottenham Hotspur, paving the way for Brendan Rodgers to return and assume control in the dugout at Celtic.

The Irishman quickly informed Siegrist that he did not feature in his plans, prompting the 33-year-old to seek a move away.

“I had an offer from a team that I was willing to go to”

“I had an offer from a team that I was willing to go to,” said Siegrist. “They said yes initially, then they changed their mind. Then I was stuck with the transfer window shutting.

“I felt like I needed to play to get my confidence back. In January… I had another team going for a league in another country, a top division, playing European football. I was on holiday, actually. Everything was agreed. Then I found out that Celtic hadn’t responded to that team in four weeks.

“Some people on the Celtic board just didn’t respond to any of the inquiries from the other team”

“I did everything, pushed everything. I spoke to Stevie [Woods]. He said, ‘In January, you can go’. I spoke to the new team, spoke to everyone. It was a done deal. I was ready to pack up. Some people on the Celtic board just didn’t respond to any of the inquiries from the other team.”

“There was never a problem between me and Brendan Rodgers”

When questioned about the Celtic board’s quiet stance on a potential transfer, Siegrist responded simply: “Good question. There was never a problem between me and Brendan Rodgers. It was always very respectful. But there were things going on internally.

“The message I got from the manager wasn’t the same that I got from the board. That was very frustrating because all I wanted to do was play. I was denied that opportunity twice. It felt like a lost year. It wasn’t right the way it was handled. It just felt like a kick in the teeth.”

Conor Spence