Cryptic Brendan Rodgers last night claimed he is still happy at Celtic after being linked with a move to Aston Villa.

Weekend speculation put Rodgers on a three-man shortlist for Villa for last week's dismissal of Steve Bruce.

Thierry Henry and Rui Faria, Joe Mourinho's long-term assistant, are believed to be the other two names wanted by the Championship club with Henry appearing to be in pole position for the role.

Rodgers was measured in his response to the speculation around him - "you can’t rule me out because I’ve never been asked" - and he was fulsome in his praise of Villa while also reiterating his enjoyment to his current role at Celtic.

"You get linked to a number of things," said Rodgers. "When clubs need a manager there is always a raft of names mentioned. It’s a huge club, it’s a Premier League club, great facilities. I said it before when young John McGinn was going. Brilliant support base, good history. But I’m sure they will know who they want to go in there.

"I’ve got a great job here, a very exciting challenge this season."

The speculation follows on from a revealed a fortnight ago that he had been offered a role in China this summer while also claiming that he had other offers during his time at Celtic. There has been a persistent feeling that Rodgers has become disillusioned at Celtic although he watched his side enjoy their biggest ever win in his tenure at the club yesterday as Celtic put six past St Johnstone without reply.

The result came on the back of a difficult week for the Parkhead manager after a sobering night in Austria in the Europa League.

And despite the travel and the potential for lethargy on the back of the 3-1 defeat on Thursday night, Rodgers revealed he told his players that there would be no excuses before the game in Perth.

"I said to the players, there is no excuse," said Rodgers.W"e have done it often enough over the last few years, coming off the back of really tough games in midweek and stepping up the performance level and intensity at the weekend. We have no excuses. It was a tough game against a top-class team but getting over it is important. I never tend to dwell too much on the negative. We know how we could have been better. I demand that we technically play the game to a level and today we did that. It was very good."

James Forrest netted four goals in the win with Rodgers praising the winger for his part in the victory.

"James has had an eventful week, that’s for sure but it shows you his mentality," said the Celtic manager. "Something I’ve noticed in the last couple of years, that desire and will to want to score goals is important. His job is to create and score and he has done that exceptionally well today.

"There were a couple of nice combinations with Tom Rogic to get himself in and his finishing with both feet was outstanding. It was a very, very good individual performance by James.

"Domestically, we have been getting there. I said to the players when you are in a big team you hear a lot about desire and will to win games.

"It was an outstanding team performance, much more like our level. We’re getting back to where I want us to be and it all starts with that will and intensity to get the ball back. We were much better in our pressing and much more syncronised in getting to the ball, players reading passes to intercept and make blocks and that will always allow us to create chances and score goals. Defensively, we were very organised, our pressing was good and collectively everyone played their part. Every goal we scored was outstanding in its own right."