Former manager Brendan Rodgers has “massively changed the landscape” at Celtic, while his assistant John Kennedy leaves “a huge void”, according to captain Callum McGregor.
Rodgers resigned on Monday night, while Kennedy – who joined Celtic as a player in 1999 and was then a long-serving manager – resigned the next day.
Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney have been appointed on an interim basis and are preparing for Sunday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers after starting their temporary terms with a 4-0 home win over Falkirk on Wednesday.
“I just found out the same thing as everyone else,” McGregor said when asked about Rodgers' surprise decision to quit, which was announced in a short statement.
“I spoke to the manager maybe 10, 15 minutes afterward. We had a conversation that remains private for obvious reasons. It's a shock at that point, and then very quickly you're five minutes away from going to bed.”
“You have to deal with the consequences. I spoke to a few players and then we came back on Tuesday and everything is going as usual, you have a game to play the next day.”
Rodgers won four titles and seven cups in his two spells as manager, with McGregor a regular in midfield in the first season and captain in the second.
“Hopefully he will be judged for what he has done for the club,” McGregor added. “Ten years ago he massively changed the landscape of this club.
“The success we had was due to the values and work ethic he instilled on his first assignment – and that has sustained us over the long term.”
“Unfortunately, everything comes to an end in football. Everyone would love a fairytale ending, but something like that rarely happens. Football can be brutal sometimes, that's just how it is.”
“As a club we have a lot to thank him for.
“He's been great for my career. He's done so much for me, so on a personal level I owe him so much and I'm sure whatever he does next he'll be a huge success.”