GAFFER QUIT CELTS FOR EPL NOT LEICESTER

HEARTS v CELTIC TONIGHT, 7.45, LIVE ON SKY SPORTS

CRAIG LEVEIN has joked Brendan Rodgers will benefit from the groundwork he laid at Leicester.

But he reckons it is the league and not the club that has lured the Northern Irishman away from Celtic.

The Hearts boss enjoyed a largely unremarkable two-year stint in charge of Leicester which ended in January 2006 with the Foxes in the Championship relegation zone.

The club Rodgers has joined 13 years later is unrecognisable, having returned to the Premier League before completing arguably the biggest upset in sporting history by winning the top-flight title in 2016.

Rodgers’s 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 11th spot – has prompted the likes of Chris Sutton, David Weir and Gordon Strachan to state that Celtic are a bigger club.

However, Lev e i n reckons location is more relevant as he hailed the positive influence Rodgers had on Scottish football.

He said: “It’s a Premier League job. Without speaking to Brendan, I don’t know what his motivation is 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 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.”

On his own time at Leicester, Levein smiled and said: “I’ve been there and I was delighted when they won the Premier League – all that hard work that I put in place paid off !”

Amid the fallout from Rodgers’s departure, Hearts are the side charged with adding to the sense of shock among the Celtic faithful by claiming victory this evening.

Levein’s old sparring partner Neil Lennon will be in the dugout after being unveiled as the Hoops’ interim gaffer.

And Jambos manager Levein said: “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.

“They are on a good run j ust now so the i r momentum and belief is quite high at the moment.

“Their confidence will be high and we are preparing for a good Celtic side.”