Paul Lambert is “ready” for the Celtic managerial job, according to his former team-mate at the Glasgow club, Stiliyan Petrov. The Bulgarian has known Lambert as both a player and a manager following a career in which the duo were the linchpin of the Parkhead midfield, before Petrov then played under Lambert when the Scot assumed the manager’s position at Aston Villa.

Following yesterday’s announcement that Lambert plans to activate a release clause in his current Blackburn Rovers contract and leave the troubled Lancashire club at the end of the season, the former Scotland captain was quickly installed as the bookies favourite for the soon-to-be-vacant post at Celtic Park. And Petrov believes that he is an ideal fit for the role in Glasgow.

“I’d think he’s ready,” said Petrov. “Obviously he had a tough spell at Villa with financial restrictions and having to cut the wage bill. Then he moved to Blackburn but I think Celtic would be completely different for him. When you become Celtic manager and demand better players I think it’s easier to work.

Petrov’s leukaemia diagnosis came in March 2012 at a time when he was Lambert’s captain at Villa Park; the 36-year-old has previously spoken of his gratitude at how he was treated throughout his illness by Lambert and the duo have an enduring friendship. The midfielder – who has not given up his ambition of returning to professional football – believes that Lambert would welcome the challenge of the Celtic job, albeit that he insisted that he would want some financial leeway.

“Paul will fancy it but he will want money to spend,” he said. “Any manager would want that to be successful. It’s a job that you can’t turn down because it’s a privilege to be a manager of a club of this stature. So I’m sure there will be a lot of candidates but I think it has to be someone who knows the club and can bring back the fans back again.

“Celtic will always be attractive, especially with Rangers coming back now and making the league competitive again. But to have success you need to spend. That’s the same everywhere you go around the world. You need to spend more than anyone else if you want to bring quality and be in the Champions League.”

Lambert himself was inevitably coy on the Celtic speculation when he spoke to the media in the wake of yesterday’s announcement. It is believed that privately he may not welcome the intensity off the pitch that comes with the Celtic job, although he was keen to stress that he wishes to remain involved in football.

It may be that after the acrimonious end to his time at Aston Villa when he was sacked by the club and the financial insecurities that have dominated his five-month spell at Blackburn, however, that the Celtic job may be seen as an opportunity to restore his CV with the opportunity to take the club into the elite environment of the UEFA Champions League.

In the final year of his Celtic playing career, Lambert was given permission by the Parkhead club to undergo his UEFA coaching badges in Germany and he his ambitions have not been punctured by recent experiences.

“The only connection I’ve got with Celtic is that I played eight great years there,” said Lambert. “It’s a fantastic club, a great club. I had some great moments up there and I’d like to think I gave them a hand in that. But as of this minute I’m back to square one and where I was when I left Aston Villa. But I want to get back into the football. “

Meanwhile, former Celtic manager and current Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill, could also come into the mix after hinting that he could be available after this summer’s European Championships. Roy Keane, O’Neill’s assistant, has clarified that he will seek a return to club football following the tournament and the former Manchester United captain remains firmly on the radar of Celtic; majority shareholder Dermot Desmond offered Keane the managerial job two years ago when the intention was that Ronny Deila would act as his assistant.

O’Neill too retains the affections of Desmond, although the Irishman has been linked with a return to Nottingham Forest, a club with whom he won the European Cup as a player. He has yet to sign an extension to his current FAI contract.

“These contractual conversations take place on almost a daily basis,” said O’Neill. “I have good relationship with John [Delaney, FAI chief executive], I hope he would echo that but I think I get on pretty well with him and I’m not that easy to get on with. Overall we’re fine and we know where we’re going. There’s no update but I don’t think it’s wildly important.

“When John took me on board a couple of years ago we did it without having to worry about signatures on such things, so I think that John and I pretty comfortable with things at the moment.”