Levein says Rodgers is welcome to build on his work at Leicester

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.

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 11th 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 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.”

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 since arriving at Parkhead in 2016.

Celtic remain on course to complete an unprecedented treble treble but, in a mischievous move, Levein confirmed that he won’t be the man 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.

“However, that’s not my worry... unless Peter [Lawwell] phones me of course. Actually, I’m ruling myself out.”