Brendan Rodgers insists he always wanted to return for a second spell at Celtic to repair his legacy, among other reasons.
Rodgers provoked anger and upset among the Hoops support when he cut short his first spell at the the club to head back to the English Premier League with Leicester.
The reaction was increased because of the timing of the exit - when the club was on the brink of their eighth league title in a row and closing in on 10-in-a-row, which they ultimately ended up missing out on without him.
Finding himself out of work after four years at Leicester, Rodgers completed a sensational return to Parkhead in the summer of 2023 after Ange Postecoglou's departure. While exciting some supporters, others made it clear they did not want the Northern Irishman back because of how he had left.
It didn't take him long to win them back over by exerting Celtic's dominance yet again by winning a double last season, which could now be followed up by a treble.
Speaking ahead of the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen which could clinch that, the 52-year-old spoke about his return to the club two years ago.
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He told BBC Sport: "I knew the feeling when I left and I never wanted that to be my legacy here at Celtic. Growing up a Celtic guy and had a wonderful first spell here, for that to be my story..I never really wanted that.
"I always wanted to come back. I didn't know when that was going to be."
Asked if he felt that would be possible, he added: "I hoped it would. There was never a guarantee because obviously if people don't want you back then you're not going to be.
"But I was very thankful I had a really good relationship with Dermot (Desmond) and the board first time, in particular with Dermot, and his confidence and belief in me never wavered.
"So yeah, I always wanted to come back and for multiple reasons. Obviously one of them being I wanted Celtic to do well in Europe and I wanted us to bring Celtic into Europe and be respectable and have credibility.
"So that was a big factor, whilst looking to dominate still domestically because that's your bread and butter."
