Mick McCarthy has hailed Brendan Rodgers as 'a bloody good coach' as the former Celtic boss closes in on a return to Parkhead.
Rodgers has been heavily linked with the job since Ange Postecoglou's move to Spurs and is expected to be formally announced as the new manager of Celtic four years after he jumped ship mid-season to join Leicester.
Despite the fan backlash at the time, team appears to have healed that particular would and the general consensus is Rodgers is the best candidate to continue on the stellar work of Postecoglou.
Former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy believes Celtic have chosen well in selecting Rodgers and told The Celtic Way that he's the best man for the job.
"He is the highest calibre of managerial candidate that Celtic can possibly attract at this moment in time," said McCarthy.
"Of all the candidates that I have seen linked with the Celtic job I would be having Brendan in front of a whole load of others.
"Just because Brendan quit Celtic for Leicester City in 2019, if that is your sole motivation for not wanting him back then maybe those Celtic fans should focus on what happened before and what he did for the club. You have got to be a bit magnanimous with respect to these kind of things.
"It's what he did and what he can do that matters because he's a bloody good coach and he has proven that by being successful wherever he has gone.
"He is also a lovely fella and if he does get the chance to return to Celtic as manager he will be very lucky as not many people get that opportunity. He is a good manager and I'd have him back at Celtic in a heartbeat."
Rodgers managed Celtic between 2016 and 2019 and won two league titles and two Scottish Cups along with three Scottish League Cups.
He famously led Celtic to an unbeaten domestic season in 2016/17, with the Hoops going 47 games undefeated on the way to winning a domestic treble.
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