BRENDAN Rodgers will bring the punters back to Celtic Park, according to former Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington, who is also Rodgers’ cousin.

The 43-year-old is the frontrunner in the race for the Celtic managerial vacancy and Worthington has insisted that if the Parkhead side land their preferred candidate that he will have the Hoops playing a brand of football that will have them on the edge of their seats.

“I think it’s a job Brendan would cherish,” said Worthington. “As far as world football is concerned, Celtic are right up there with any club anywhere. Yes, he has managed at a high level in England, but I don’t think he would have any issues taking it.

“One thing you know about Brendan is that his team will play a passing game. He’s got his principles and beliefs. If you go back to his days at Watford, Reading and Swansea, his sides have always passed a ball.

“It didn’t work out for him at Reading, but at Swansea things really took off for him and that’s what attracted Liverpool. But for an unfortunate slip up by Steven Gerrard which gave a goal away against Chelsea his team might just have won the Premier League. There is a fine line between success and failure in football.

“I think Brendan would play a 4-3-3 formation at Celtic and have two wide players really bombing forward. He would also have two midfielders coming up behind in support of the strikers. I would imagine he will continue to play a very attack-minded game.

“As well as being tactically astute, Brendan excels at the man management side of the job. He will keep the Celtic players buoyant. He understands the psychology of the game. He knows when a player needs an arm over their shoulder and a cuddle and when he needs to be sterner and give them a telling off.

"I think he’s got all the credentials needed to take over at Celtic and be a success.”

And Worthington believes that the disappointment of having to retire from football at just 23 because of a knee injury is what has fuelled Rodgers’ drive in management.

“There are different ways into management,” he said. “You could count the number of top level players who went on to become top class coaches on the fingers of one hand. A lot of players who have had shall we say indifferent careers have kicked on when they have moved into management.

“Brendan had a very bad injury which cut short his playing career. That forced him to go down the coaching route. It kept him involved in the game of football and he worked his way up from there.

“Lesser players have got to work harder and think about the game more. That mentality goes with them from their playing days and is very beneficial. Doing well as a manager requires a strong mentality, great focus and inner drive. Brendan has all those qualities.”

Worthington has also revealed that nobody in his family had supported Celtic – Rodgers is a childhood Sheffield Wednesday fan –but recalled that they had all been aware of the success and stature of the Glasgow club growing up.

“Our families were very close,” he said. “There’s no Celtic connections there. But there are large communities of Rangers, Celtic, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal fans all over both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

“When you are youngsters growing up you just want to watch football and teams who are playing at the top of the table. There wasn’t much football on television when we were young, but Rangers, Celtic, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in their heyday. Growing up the likes of Danny McGrain was a household name in Northern Ireland.”