CRAIG LEVEIN, the Hearts manager, has joked that Brendan Rodgers will benefit from the groundwork he laid at Leicester City. However, he is adamant that the league rather than the club is what lured the Northern Irishman away from Celtic.
Levein enjoyed a largely unremarkable two-year stint in charge of Leicester which ended in January 2006 with the Foxes in the Championship relegation zone and fighting for their lives.
READ MORE: Neil Lennon always had unfinished business at Celtic but his return caps a remarkable turnaround
The outfit Rodgers will be joining 13 years later is unrecognisable, having returned to the English Premier League before completing arguably the biggest upset in sporting history by winning the top-flight title in 2016.
Rodgers’ decision to spurn the chance to become a Bhoys icon by potentially leading the side to 10 in a row in favour of Leicester - currently in 12th spot - has prompted the likes of Chris Sutton, David Weir and Gordon Strachan to state that Celtic are a bigger club.
However, Levein reckons location is more relevant as he hailed the positive influence Rodgers had on football in Scotland.
He said: “It’s a Premier League job. Without speaking to Brendan, I don’t know what his motivation but I think if Celtic played in the Premier League in England, he probably would have stayed.
“That’s basically it, because you could argue that the Premier League is the biggest league in the world. I wish him all the best.
“From my own point of view, it was good to come up against his teams - and good for Scottish football. I think having him here was great for the game.
“His previous job was Liverpool, where he nearly won the Premier League. He did a fantastic job there, has done a fantastic job at Celtic and is a really high-profile manager. The more high-profile managers we have in the league, the better it is for Scotland.”
READ MORE: Only Jock Stein stands above Brendan Rodgers in the pantheon of Celtic managerial greats
On his own time at Leicester, Levein smiled: “I’ve been there, as I’ve been at quite a few clubs now, but I still know a few people there and I was delighted when they won the Premier League - all that hard work that I put in place paid off!”
Levein acknowledges that Rodgers’ successor has sizeable shoes to fill, following a man who has won EVERY domestic trophy he has contested - two Scottish Premierships, three Scottish League Cups and two Scottish Cups - since arriving at Parkhead in 2016.
Celtic remain on course to complete an unprecedented treble treble but, in a mischievous move, Levein was quick to confirm that he won’t be the man called in to complete that feat.
Levein continued: “Since he’s come into Celtic, Brendan has done everything he could possibly do, domestically. So it’s quite a tall order for whoever comes in behind him, to match that level of success.
“However, that’s not my worry . . . unless Peter [Lawwell] phones me of course. Actually, I’m ruling myself out.”
The overwhelming favourite to fill that void, at least until the end of the current campaign, is Levein’s old sparring partner Neil Lennon.
The duo had plenty of run in’s during the fiery coach’s spell in charge of Hibs, however Levein was among the first to state how much he would be missed when his shock departure from Easter Road played out.
And he has no doubt the 47-year-old would represent a safe pair of hands at Parkhead.
Levein continued: “It would be good to see him back in so quickly. I get on well with Lenny and it would be a really good job for him.
“He knows the club, which is always part of the challenge of being a new manager going into a new role; getting to understand your environment.
"Bringing in someone who already has that knowledge is obviously better than somebody who is just turning up for the first time.”
READ MORE: Is Leicester City a step up for Brendan Rodgers?
Amid the fallout from Rodgers’ departure, Hearts are the side charged with adding to the sense of shock among the Celtic faithful by claiming a victory at Tynecastle this evening and halting an impressive nine-game domestic winning run for the visitors.
John Kennedy and Damien Duff will reportedly be in charge for the trip to Edinburgh.
However, Levein - who confirmed that Demi Mitchell has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury - fully expects the Glasgow giants to be a formidable foe regardless of who is in the dugout.
He added: “I can’t see them changing much. John [Kennedy] has been there for all of Brendan’s time at the club. They play in a certain way, a style of football that is recognised as Brendan’s way of playing.
“They are on a good run just now so their momentum and belief is quite high at the moment. Their confidence will be high and we are preparing to play against a really good Celtic side. We need to be at our best and keep our foot to the floor as long as we possibly can.
“Obviously there is a little bit of a hiccup because Brendan is not going to be there but whoever is there won’t have any time to do anything different.
“They’ve got good players and they’ve got a way of playing so I don’t see anything changing. Brendan’s signed players over the last three years to play in a certain manner. So I think they will do the same thing.”
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