Brendan Rodgers has backed Ian Cathro while alluding to the alleged interference from Craig Levein, the director of football at Hearts, as pivotal to Cathro's philosophy being unable to take hold.

The Celtic manager sent Cathro a text message of support following the former Hearts manager's departure from Tynecastle this week.

Observing that it "always seemed a wee bit confused for me", Rodgers insisted that Cathro's task was made harder by those above him.

Citing the incident last March when Aberdeen beat Hearts 2-0 when Levein was passing notes to Cathro via Jon Daly, Rodgers dis not name names but maintained that the 31-year-old was seriously compromised in the dug-out.

“I looked there (at Hearts) and it always seemed a wee bit confused. Especially when you’re young, there are lot of opinions," said Rodgers. "You get so many so-called experts around you, looking to guide you.

“They bring you in to do the job but you are getting messages from everywhere, really. The one example, which everyone saw at Aberdeen - Christ almighty. The game is hard enough.

And Rodgers also suggested that the summer recruitment process was seriously at odds with the way in which Cathro wanted Hearts to play.

"I’m pretty clear on how Ian wanted to play, with the formation and structures he set out," said the Celtic manager.

“Those are footballing ideas, 3-4-3. It’s very clear how you have to work that to make the best of it - you have to pass the ball, you need players with a certain type of technical ability.

“But then they will switch to 4-4-2 and that’s what I’m talking about, the confusion.

“There was a coach who wanted to play a brand of football for the benefit of the players and for the club to have grown, although of course you have to win.

“That was set against players coming in who weren’t of that profile. With all due respect, Kyle Lafferty isn’t that, Christophe Berra isn’t that. That’s the difficult of it.

“As manager, if your philosophy is different to someone else’s, then it is a mismatch.

“So I have empathy for him - but he’s now a real manager. He will sharpen his teeth now. You never think it’s going to happen and then ‘bang’ - you’re on the outside looking in."

Rodgers has Paul Hartley in at Lennoxtown following the Scotland internationalist's sacking from Dens Park last season and he has opened the door to Cathro too.

"To be given the responsibility so young, my own feeling on it is that he is a very talented coach," he said. "He’ll be better for the experience. I told him that after the clouds, always comes the sun and not to worry because this sharpens your teeth. I am a wee bit disappointed for Scottish football because he is clearly someone who was trying to work a certain way and to develop players and make them better. I am not sure you have so many of them up here, that’s the brutal honestly of it.

"He’ll be disappointed, of course,, but being so young he will get an opportunity and his next club will get the benefit of his experience at Hearts. I sent him a text message, a long message. It is a difficult situation. You lose your job, you don’t want to be talking on the phone for a while. But I wanted to acknowledge that I was disappointed for him and to tell him that I am here for anything once it all calms down a little if he wants to speak because I have been there before."