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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
James McKenzie

Brendan Rodgers tipped to replace Postecoglou in sensational Celtic return

With Ange Postecoglou's Celtic departure all but confirmed pundits are now weighing up Celtic's options, and Michael Stewart reckons Brendan Rodgers could be the answer.

The Northern Irishman has been out of a job after being sacked by recently relegated Leicester City back in April. But now with Postecoglou seemingly taking the reins at Spurs then Celtic could be a real possibility for Rodgers' next club.

It would be a controversial appointment after Rodgers departure from the Hoops back in 2019 left a bad taste in the mouth of some fans, with a treble treble still up for grabs.  

Despite this, Michael Stewart still reckons Rodgers is the obvious candidate.

Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Stewart stated that: "Celtic have got a huge task on their hands as to who is going to fill that gap. It's a big, big gap. It's not just a case of the manager's role that they need to fill.

"It's the style of play he has adopted, it's the way the club operates and the tactics how they play on the park with the tactics being so suited towards that. The club have got quite a narrow scope in looking towards the next manager that comes in.

"It's going to be a daunting task for Celtic, and dare I say it perhaps they will look towards their old manager Brendan Rodgers and see if they can get him back.

"I'm not sure how that would go down, but I'm being serious; they could do a hell of a lot worse. Regardless of what people think and how things finished at Leicester City that is a guy who is a top manager for me, and he is available now."

Currently the betting favourite to become the next Celtic manager, Rodgers is a manager in high demand with West Ham and Leeds United also interested in his services.  

Postecoglou vowed to enjoy Celtic’s record-breaking treble for as long as he could before someone “drags” him away to focus on other issues as he continued to dodge questions over his future.

“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this. 

“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me. 

“Everyone works hard and makes sacrifices to enjoy these moments. I understand that other people who aren’t invested in it want to ask these questions but for me, right now, the most important thing is that we reflect and just be in the moment of creating something special.” 

When it was pointed out that fans who are heavily-invested in Celtic are among those asking the questions, the 57-year-old said: “Yeah, but they deserve to enjoy this moment because, irrespective of what happens in the future, why would you not want to enjoy this moment just for what it is? It’s something historic.” 

When asked if he anticipated being in Glasgow next season, the former Australia head coach said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned. 

“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football. 

“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.” 

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