Billy Stark feels Brendan Rodgers has already made his most important signings as Celtic manager - by assembling a backroom team he knows he can trust intimately.

The former Liverpool boss has moved quickly to recruit two men with whom he previously worked, in the form of assistant manager Chris Davies and head of performance Glen Driscoll. Both men are well acquainted with Rodgers' way of working from their time together at both Swansea City and Liverpool, while it was announced yesterday that John Kennedy would also be staying on at the club in a coaching role.

It all makes for one of the younger backroom staffs in the club's history but Stark - a former Celtic assistant manager himself to Tommy Burns - feels that hand picking your support staff will prove crucial in the long term. Two years ago Roy Keane was so dismayed about being presented with a fait accompli in terms of assistant manager that he knocked back the chance of taking the top job.

"For sure, all top managers will tell you that, that you need people that you can trust and are capable," Stark told Herald Sport. "Nowadays, particularly at big clubs, you don't just need an assistant. You need a bigger staff than that and they are all important.

"At a big club there are so many people involved, some of whom might want to do a bit more than they should be doing, that it is easy to become quite paranoid at times," he added. "So you really need to have that inner circle, knowing that there is people you can trust and discussions that won't go any further."

The 59-year-old, now assistant manager to Darren Young at Albion Rovers, had three years at Celtic as a player in the late 80s and three years as assistant manager to the late Tommy Burns during the 90s. He knows each management team is different in its composition.

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"I don't know a lot about Chris Davies other than the fact he was with Brendan at a lot of clubs but the fact he can rely on him is the most important thing," said Stark. "Myself and Tommy just kind of worked together, it wasn't like I put the cones out and then Tommy did the sessions! Martin O'Neill was more the old fashioned manager who didn't always go to training but that balance will be decided by the manager."

Stark reckons the arrival of Rodgers represents a huge coup for the club, and judging by the crowds thronging the streets near Celtic Park yesterday there is a keen sense of anticipation about what the Northern Irishman will bring. Thousands of fans, many of whom attended Parkhead to celebrate his signing, spent yesterday queuing for up to eight hours to renew their season tickets. "I think Brendan is a great appointment," said Stark. "To get a guy of that stature into Scotland is a great coup, I know people have said that about Joey Barton at Rangers too, a great player with a bit of baggage which hopefully won't come to the fore in Scotland.

"But it will be great for our football - Brendan has shown that he is a very modern style of coach and the Celtic supporters have shown how happy they are with the appointment - that was a quite extraordinary level of support. So there's no pressure there for him then!"

One of Rodgers' unique selling points is his reputation for developing young players, also one of Stark's specialist subjects from his years as Scotland Under-21 manager.

The 59-year-old feels Rodgers will have no hesitation in promoting young players - if he feels they are ready to step up. While a current Celtic youngster like Kieran Tierney appears to display an exemplary attitude, Stark recalls watching a 'Being Liverpool' documentary and seeing the Northern Irishman not being afraid to bring the teenage Raheem Sterling down a peg or two when he spoke out of turn at a training session.

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"I always think these figures can be massaged to suit," said Stark. "Sometimes it is easy when you have been at a club when a player has come on, like Ronny Deila with Leigh Griffiths. At first he didn't play him, he didn't seem convinced that he was crucial to his game plan.

"I remember watching that documentary and Sterling had a wee chip back at Rodgers about something and he just nailed him," said Stark. "But they went on to have a very good relationship and I am not sure Sterling has moved on so much since moving to Manchester City. Brendan certainly brought him on and there are young ones at Celtic that if he decides they are good enough then he will do likewise at Celtic.

"For young players, being comfortable and enjoying playing for a manager is a big thing," Stark added. "Left back always used to be a problem position but in Scotland first we had Andy Robertson coming through and now Kieran Tierney. You can never tell how a young player will develop but with someone like Tierney it is pretty clear that he has the potential to go pretty far."