The Hoops cult hero was gutted to leave his boyhood heroes as the old penny-pinching regime accepted the Black Cats’ offer
Anton Rogan will always be part of Celtic history after starring in the famous Centenary side.
The full-back delivered the cross that set up Frank McAvennie’s equaliser in the iconic Scottish Cup final against Dundee United. He even scored in a memorable 3-0 demolition against Rangers in 1991 – perhaps his finest individual moment in a hoops jersey.
Although not blessed with dazzling ability, Rogan’s commitment to the cause and robust displays made him a cult hero at Parkhead. The lifelong fan, signed from Northern Irish side Distillery in 1986, was living his boyhood dream.
Before it was cut short by Liam Brady – who succeeded the iconic Billy McNeill in the dugout in 1991. A Republic of Ireland and Arsenal legend with whom Rogan would never see eye-to-eye.
And a manager who brought his beloved spell in Glasgow to a sudden halt by accepting Sunderland’s six-figure offer.
In an interview with Irish News, Rogan recalled: “I didn’t want to leave. I was asked to go because they were getting £400,000 for me and Celtic needed the money. That’s just the way it was in those days.
“Liam Brady came up to me and said: ‘Anton, Sunderland want to speak to you’ and I said: ‘Right, see you later’. That was all I said to him, I didn’t even look at him to be honest, I just walked away.
“I was upset because I was doing well and the fans loved me but when Liam Brady became manager, even in pre-season it was different from the way it had been.
“It was a Tuesday morning when he spoke to me and I went in and got changed and as I was walking out the door to go down to speak to Sunderland Tom Grant (Celtic director) called me into his office.
“I said: ‘Alright Tom, what’s happening?’
“He said: ‘Anton, we don’t want you to go but…’
“I said: ‘Yeah but I am going, aren’t I? No matter what happens.”
“That’s all that was said. I walked out the door and that was it, I never went back. It was as blunt and as simple as that, there was no ‘cheers’, no ‘thanks’ or whatever.
“I don’t know whether he (Brady) didn’t fancy me as a player or what. He must have spoken to people and they would have told me I had a great season. Anyway, money (the transfer fee) was involved so that was the end of it.”
Rogan would go on to spend two years at the Stadium of Light, and with the benefit of hindsight, admits it was a relief to leave the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
He admitted: “In my heart I did not want to leave Celtic but after a while I thought: ‘I like this, this is good.’
“It was a completely different sort of lifestyle to what I was used to in Belfast and Glasgow where there was a lot going on away from football.
“I lived in Durham when I was at Sunderland you could walk down the street and you weren’t getting called a ‘so-and-so’ and getting all sorts of abuse thrown at you. It got me out of the fishbowl of being a Celtic player.”