Celtic hero Peter Grant warns Brendan Rodgers about Aston Villa links

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Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has been linked with the Aston Villa job following Steve Bruce’s exit.

In comments reported by BT Sport, Peter Grant has warned Brendan Rodgers about the possibility of leaving Celtic as the Hoops boss continues to be linked with the Aston Villa post.

BT Sport reports that Rodgers is thought to be on the Villans’ radar following Steve Bruce’s departure last week. And while he has distanced himself from potentially taking the job, speculation continues to mount that Villa will attempt to lure him away from Parkhead.

But, although Grant can see why the opportunity to manage Villa would appeal to any manager, the former Celtic hero – who also spent a season as Villa’s assistant boss under Alex McLeish – hinted that Rodgers should opt to stay with the Bhoys even if the opportunity presents itself.

“Anybody that manages Celtic is always going to be attractive to anyone, because to manage Celtic you have to be something different: you have to handle a lot of criticism, a lot of praise, you are under scrutiny 24/7,” he said, as reported by BT Sport.

“Villa is a Premier League club in the Championship. You can say that, but you have to get back there. I could say that about 20 teams in the Championship, it’s a hell of a difficult league.

“But there is a big expectation, wonderful club with a big fan base, facilities and stadium are magnificent, second to none. It is a big attraction for anyone.

“I can understand 100 per cent people being interested in Brendan, there is no doubt about that. But Celtic is a massive club and there’s not many places you can go when you leave Celtic and still be at a big club.”

It has been a slightly underwhelming start to the season for Celtic. They missed out on the Champions League for the first time under Rodgers and they have already lost four times in all competitions.

Nevertheless, after the weekend’s results, Celtic still have to be considered favourites for the Scottish Premiership title. They stormed to a 6-0 victory at St Johnstone while Hearts lost for the first time in the league this term.

And while another domestic Treble may not be wrapped up in the same style that it was during his first two years at the helm, anyone would be foolish to write off Celtic’s chances of making it a clean sweep again this year.

But it remains to be seen whether the prospect of winning those trophies again and perhaps enjoying a run in the Europa League is enough to convince Rodgers to ignore any potential approaches that may come his way.