Brendan Rodgers believes it will be a “sad day” when Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell steps down in the summer.

The 61-year-old will retire from the post at the end of June after a hugely successful 17-year tenure brought 29 trophies, including 13 Scottish Premiership titles.

Rodgers contributed to that success during his spell as Hoops boss between 2016 and 2019, winning seven out of seven domestic competitions including two titles, two Scottish Cups and three League Cups before moving to Leicester City.

“I was obviously aware when I was there what the long-term plan would be and that at some point over the next few years this would be the case,” said the Northern Irishman.

“You only have to look at how Celtic is run as a business and the figures behind that to see how well he has done there.

“He has brought great stability to the club and you only have to look at the bank balance to see he has run the club extremely well

“He loves the club and has a real passion for Celtic and it will be a sad day when he does retire, but he will always be a Celtic supporter.

“He’s done a fantastic job and he will step aside and someone else will come on in and take on the mantle.”