Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton believes that Neil Lennon is the natural replacement for Brendan Rodgers, should the current Hoops boss be tempted elsewhere in the near future.

Rodgers is reported to be on a four-man shortlist at Chelsea should Antonio Conte leave the London club at the end of the season, while Arsenal and Spurs have also been credited with an interest in the Celtic manager.

Rodgers has maintained throughout any speculation linking him away from Celtic that he is in his “dream job” but inevitably there will come a point when there is an allure to head either south of the border or to dip his toe into Continental management.

Read more: Celtic winger James Forrest expects fired up Neil Lennon at Easter Road on Saturday​

In any case, Sutton has maintained that Lennon would the obvious candidate for a return to the Celtic dugout.

“The interesting thing from Brendan’s point of view is that if he wins the double Treble - and it would be an unbelievable achievement and never been done before - the pressure will be on in Europe,” said the BT Sports pundit.

“We’ve all seen the European performances this season. Does he see this squad competing in the Champions League with four qualifiers next season?

“In England there are people who are being disrespectful about Scottish football and Celtic and saying it’s a load of rubbish and anyone could do what he’s doing.

“They are asking if he should be given a chance if a big gun comes in. Arsenal have been mentioned and is reportedly on a four-man shortlist for Chelsea.

Read more: Celtic earn £27.6m from Champions League TV cash​

“I think he would be well courted so if it left an opportunity at Celtic who would be the next fit? I don’t know the relationship between Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell after he left.

“But in terms of the job he has done at Hibs, the affection he’s held by the Celtic support and the fact he’s really maturing as a coach then he’d be well up there in the pecking order if Brendan ended up leaving.”

Not that Sutton expects there to be any sentimentality as the teams clash at Easter Road on Saturday afternoon.

Celtic require three points to formally anoint them as champions for the seventh successive season but with second place still in the sight of Hibs, Sutton has rebuffed any suggestion that there will be any favours handed out.

“Having played with Neil he is a fierce competitor and he will not be caring about Celtic,” said the Englishman.

“Hibs are on a good run and he’ll be looking at what happened with Aberdeen and Rangers and thinking about second.

Read more: Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon couldn't watch as Moussa Dembele netted Panenka penalty​

“That’s not unreasonable and it makes Saturday’s game really interesting as if they win it gives them a real opportunity for second place.

“I think Neil was on BT a year ago and was asked about his realistic aims and he said second place. I was laughing inside.

“I thought it was absolute madness. But they are a team which has come in and over-achieved.

“You can look at what’s gone wrong at Rangers and Aberdeen, but Neil will be focusing on Hibs and if they did it would be a remarkable achievement to finish above Aberdeen and Rangers.

“Neil won’t be focusing on Rangers and Aberdeen, he’ll be thinking about getting his team organised and giving Celtic a good game.

“To be fair to Hibs they have given Celtic some tough games this season and really gone at them.

Read more: Celtic winger James Forrest expects fired up Neil Lennon at Easter Road on Saturday​

“Maybe he’d have learned lessons from the weekend and understand that you have to be really positive against Celtic.

“Look at the goals Celtic have conceded in the league – they are strong at the back but we’ve all seen Celtic and we’d all agree that there’s a vulnerability about Celtic at the back. That is their Achilles heel.

“There is no point sitting in and let superior players dictate the game to you.

“At home, the onus is on Hibs and he’ll have a go. That’s the right way to do it.”

BT Sport 1 will show the following games live:

Sat 21st April – Hibs v Celtic – 12pm

Fri 27th April – Aberdeen v Hearts – 7:30pm

Fri 4th May – Partick Thistle v Ross County – 7:30pm

Sun 6th May – Hearts v Celtic – 11:45am

Weds 9th May – Hearts v Hibs – 7:15pm

Sun 13th May – Hibs v Rangers – 12pm