Brendan Rodgers has tipped Scott Brown to follow in the footsteps of Billy McNeill by returning to Celtic as manager.
Rodgers spoke exclusively to Record Sport after digesting the shock news that his former Parkhead skipper has ripped up his contract as a player at Aberdeen and is ready to hang up his boots for good.
The Leicester City boss revealed that he has already invited Brown to travel south to the Midlands to discuss his new career path into management.
And, while Rodgers believes there may not currently be room for Brown in Ange Postecoglou’s back-room team, he is adamant the man who led the club to Nine in a Row as a captain is just setting out on the same pathway that led Lisbon Lion McNeill all the way into Celtic’s hotseat.
Rodgers said: “I do think that one day that could be the position for him but I’m not sure it’s the best step for him to go back right now.
“If you look at it, Ange is doing a great job and he’s very clear in how he works. Then, behind him, you’ve got a brilliant coach in John Kennedy who is there to support the manager and you also have Gavin Strachan and Stephen McManus.
“So you have good coaches there already and, below that, it’s always been Celtic’s way to bring through their own young coaches.
“I’m not saying Scott wouldn’t be a great addition to that. He would. And I’m not saying he needs to put distance between himself and the club either. It’s about him having the time to allow him to grow and develop in his career, wherever that is.
“But I definitely think there will be a pathway for him to go back to the club at some point in the future. He’s obviously been a fantastic player and captain of the club and he could go on to follow in the footsteps of Big Billy.
“I’m pretty sure if Brownie really wants to do that then I think he will do it. But it’s about building up the skill set to best enable him to become the manager of Celtic and deal with the pressures and the expectations he’ll then encounter.”
Rodgers has already made it clear to Brown that his office door at the King Power will be open.
But he believes the 36-year-old is destined for a big future on the sidelines.
He went on: “I have absolutely no doubt he can then go on to do really well as a manager or a coach. It’s just about waiting for what he sees as the right opportunity.
“He could go in as a coach and give players little bits of gold dust from his own playing career. So he could start by doing that and then go on to become a manager somewhere down the road.
“Or he could step straight into a manager’s position because he’s been such a leader all this time. He could then have other coaches around him.
“But there’s no doubt that having someone like him at your club, whatever club that is, would be absolutely fantastic.
“Management requires a different skill set. Just because you are the highest level of player you can’t just expect to go straight into the same level as a coach or manager.
“For me, this is a guy who’s had an unbelievable career. He should take a little bit of time now to reflect on everything he has achieved. He’s been doing it for so many years, season after season and he’s never taken that bit of time out. But this is a great opportunity for him to be able to do that and reflect on everything he did as a player and have a think about what he wants to do next.
“He’s already doing his coaching badges so it’s pretty clear he wants to go down that road. But he just needs time now to look back at all he’s done and then think about his next steps.”
