Brendan Rodgers has told Michael O’Neill that the core group of Celtic players in the Scotland set up could help propel to country to their first major tournament in two decades.

The Northern Irish manager is the SFA’s first choice to take over from departed manager Gordon Strachan and Rodgers believes that he would be an ideal appointment to the role.

However, the Hoops boss has also insisted that O’Neill should be given space and time to make the call on whether or not he wants to stay involved in international football or whether he fancies getting back into the day-to-day business of club football.

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Certainly, though, whoever takes the job will have the spine of the current Celtic squad to work with.

Craig Gordon, Kieran Tierney, Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, Leigh Griffiths. Callum McGregor and James Forrest have all been involved in the Scotland set-up and Rodgers will offer every assistance he can.

“Absolutely,” said the Hoops boss. “I want to help. There is a real energy about the Celtic players when they go there and there is a real core of them that can help.

“It is a lot of thinking time and he [Michael] deserves the respect to take his time and see where he is at. He has lived in Scotland for a number of years, he has played in Scotland and he knows what you are all like.”

However, the Celtic boss can understand why he has been identified by the SFA as the man to take the country forward.

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“It is not surprising,” said Rodgers. “There are a number of candidates who can do the job but it is about what Michael wants to do.

“If you look at the Scotland squad it is an exciting group of players there that could go forward. He has spent six years or so at Northern Ireland and has done a European Championship and just missed out on a World Cup.

“Their top players over the next few years will move on. Michael will be disappointed at missing out on the World Cup but if you look at Scotland, it is an exciting group and if he can pull them together and develop them then he would maybe have a chance of getting them to the their first Championships in 20-odd years and then maybe onto a World Cup after that. I am sure it is one that he will think about.

“It is also whether he thinks whether after that period of time does he want to do the day to day job and I am sure that is something he would consider.

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Rodgers has not spoken to O’Neill but has exchanged various texts with him over the last few weeks.

Should he be appointed at Hampden, there has been chat that Tommy Wright could well replace O’Neill at Northern Ireland.

Rodgers, though, believes the St Johnstone boss has done enough to deserve recognition at Ibrox too.

“Tommy would be perfect for Northern Ireland if Michael moved on,” said the Celtic manager. “He’d be absolutely brilliant. He’s one who has earned his stripes at St Johnstone in terms of the work he has done there to make them competitive.

“For me, like the Rangers job, Derek [McInnes] and him would be obvious stand-outs, but I really hope he gets the chance given the work he has done to do it on a bigger stage, wherever that is.”