Will Brendan Rodgers call time at Celtic, just like Neil Lennon?

Following a week in which Steve Clarke graphically illustrated the stresses and strains of life managing in Scottish football’s top flight, the question of how long Brendan Rodgers will choose to stick around at Celtic is hard to avoid.

On Thursday night, the Scottish champions ended their European interest for another season when they were beaten 1-0 by Valencia on the night, 3-0 on aggregate, in the club’s Europa League round-of-32 tie.

They performed with credit in Spain, and may even have won had their chances not been sabotaged by the sending-off of Jeremy Toljan by referee Deniz Aytekin for two first-half yellow cards.

Yet, as the Hoops look to refocus by continuing their smooth move towards their third successive domestic clean sweep with victories in today’s Premiership match against Motherwell and Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie away to Hibs, the perception that Rodgers may require a change of scene and pace before too long persists.

Can dominance at home make up for the annual “glass-ceiling” frustrations of having to try to find a way to compete with much-wealthier Continental opponents?

“Whether it’s enough for him, is a question that only Brendan will answer, I guess,” said Neil Lennon, who led the Hoops to the Champions League last 16 in 2012-13, a run which included a famous victory over Barcelona.

“It is shelf life, plus just energy, really.

“We are talking about the possibility of Brendan winning a Treble Treble, which is just bonkers. I can’t believe it.

“It’s just amazing consistency. They always seem to find a way to beat the opposition, whether they are playing well going into the game or not.

“You look at that and you have to say the mentality Brendan has brought to the place, and the style of play, has been fantastic.”

While he marvels at Rodgers’ success, Lennon also reflects on his time as Celtic manager, and the time when he decided enough was enough.

“Part of it was that it was hard to keep rebuilding the team,” he said.

“And latterly there was no Rangers, either, and we had won the league by March. I think we ended up winning it by high 20 to 30 points.

“That was at the end of four years and you are just thinking: ‘I need a break’.

“Personally, I needed a break for myself more than anything else. That was a major factor in wanting to take a step out.”

So in May, 2014, after four years in the post, that it is exactly what he did.

“Right away, I knew it had been the right thing to do,” said the 47-year-old.

“A lot of energy had gone by then, and I needed the break. I needed it for myself because I had put a lot of energy into it.

“I never regretted it, not really. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it is how you are feeling at that particular moment in time.

“I left on good terms, which was important to me. You always have a tingling of regret, thinking about what you might have achieved.

“In terms of Brendan, I wouldn’t even try to pre-empt what he might be thinking.

“It will be down to him and how he’s feeling.

“If he does do a Treble Treble, does he think: ‘Well, what more can I achieve?’”

There remains a fair bit of water to flow under the bridge before that becomes reality, with Saturday’s trip to Easter Road to face a Hibs team, until last month managed by Lennon, presenting an obvious hurdle.

Lennon continued: “They are alright. I think he (new boss Paul Heckingbottom) has plenty of good players to work with.

“Florian Kamberi will be looking to make an impression and he has scored two great goals against Celtic already this season. He played really well at Ibrox on Boxing Day, too.

“I think Marc McNulty is a good acquisition as well. He is a clever player and once he gets up to full speed, I think he will score goals for them.

“So they have got goals in the team. They will be a threat to Celtic and if they can play to their full potential and maybe catch them on an off day, you could be in for an upset.

“Would it be a surprise if Hibs beat Celtic at Easter Road? On recent form, you have to say no.”

Neil Lennon was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.