Brendan Rodgers Celtic blueprint will consign Angeball to history as John Hartson refuses to play hypocrite role

John Hartson believes Brendan Rodgers has already drawn up a Celtic blueprint which will consign Angeball to history.

The former Hoops striker is convinced the Irishman’s second coming as boss will include a variety of tactical plans in stark contrast to predecessor Ange Postecoglou, whose 4-3-3 formation was cast in stone during his two seasons in Glasgow.

As Rodgers assesses the squad he’s inherited from the Australian, Hartson has told the supporters to expect the arrival of top quality signings and a change of on-field tact. He told Record Sport: “Brendan will bring in his own players, some managers inherit a squad and don’t have the budget to change things but the opposite is true at Celtic. He’s coming in with the intention of bringing new faces in and he’ll want two or three into the building who are his type of player. He’ll also tweak things slightly. Ange was stubborn with his 4-3-3 and was very successful with that.

“A lot of people questioned that, especially early on. That criticism was heard when Celtic played in Europe and were leaking so many goals on the counter-attack.

“I spoke to Ange many times before games and I asked him if he would ever change and he said, ‘absolutely not’. He said he believes in the system and he brings in the right players to play in that system.

“He had the full-backs pushing forward and creating an overload with the emphasis to get crosses into the box with a lone striker. It’s now Brendan’s prerogative and he won’t be coming in having been told he has to play like Ange.

“He’s an elite coach and he’s proven that. He won back-to-back Trebles, took Leicester City to a Europe Conference League semi-final and won the FA Cup with them even if it unravelled for him last season.