Former Celtic winger Davie Provan believes that the challenge of the Hoops board will be to keep Brendan Rodgers for as long as they possibly can.

Provan, now a pundit for broadcasters Sky Sports, maintains that Rodgers’ name is still held in significant esteem south of the border and that it will be inevitable for some of the bigger clubs in England to come calling.

Rodgers has been steadfast this season in his philosophy of building a team for the long-term at Celtic Park but Provan believes that the board will need to match his ambition in order to ensure he isn’t enticed away from the club.

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“There’s no doubt he’ll want another go at the Premier League in England,” said Provan. “The trick for Celtic is finding the means of keeping him here and keeping him motivated which might be the more difficult of the two.

“I’d love to think they could keep him for four years but there has to be doubt about that. I’m not sure he’ll see 10-in-a-row as the big picture. He’ll see restoring Celtic’s credibility in Europe as the number one priority. He’ll want to make Celtic regular Champions League participants.

“Under Brendan, if he’s given the backing from the board, and it would seem at the moment that they are buying into him, I don’t see why Celtic can’t be regulars.

“But I would think Brendan would be on the short-list of most clubs down there. I don’t think he would take a lower Premier League job. It would take something special to attract him. That would be the worry for Celtic.

“The two performances and results against Manchester City didn’t go unnoticed down south. Those are the ones people in England would have been looking for.”

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While matching Rodgers’ ambition in attracting players is one thing, the other perennial challenge of any Celtic manager lies in keeping the main players at the club.

Last week the Parkhead side repelled offer from Chelsea for Craig Gordon while there was also interest in Dembele. Kieran Tierney, too, seems destined to play at a higher level.

And Provan is aware of the difficulty in establish the foundations of a strong team while there is also a significant pull from the English Premiership.

Chelsea are expected to return to the table this summer to start the bidding for Dembele, with Celtic then left in the position of replacing a striker who has netted 23 goals already this term.

“It would be difficult if Celtic got a daft offer for Dembele and the player wanted to go,” said Provan. “In those circumstances you can’t keep him. I thought it was refreshing that when the Chelsea interest surfaced that Dembele didn’t throw the toys out of the pram and do a Dimitri Payet which he could have done.

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“He got his head down and committed himself to the end of the season but if they were to get a daft offer for him or a daft offer for Kieran Tierney then very often it is up to the player. That would be the difficulty that Brendan would have; trying to build a team and keep his best players because some players would see Scottish football as the bridge towards the Premier League.

“Players can earn four or five times their salary down south and it is very tempting. It can be difficult for Brendan to keep the team together.

“The tough thing for Brendan is in keeping players happy in Scotland, even although they are dominant in Scotland, I think there is always an attraction to go and play at the top level down south.”

*Davie Provan was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.