THE exact reasons for Neil Lennon’s suspension from Hibernian last week remain unclear and may never be fully revealed regardless of how the situation is resolved.

But suggestions the fiery Northern Irishman may have been ousted by players who took exception to his old school management style have abounded since the news broke late on Friday evening.

Brendan Rodgers was reluctant to talk in detail about his countryman’s plight yesterday as he spoke to the media without knowing the exact circumstances of his departure from Easter Road.

But the Celtic manager can certainly understand how members of the so-called Snowflake Generation – the name given to psychologically fragile millennials – would take exception to being treated in the same way as their predecessors were in years gone by from personal experience.

Rodgers spoke in glowing terms about what Lennon has achieved since taking over at the capital club two-and-a-half years ago as he prepared for the Ladbrokes Premiership game against St Johnstone at Celtic Park tomorrow evening.

However, the 45-year-old, who has been a coach for the past 25 years and a manager for the last 10, stressed that modern day players must be handled in a less abrasive manner than in years gone by.

“It is a different way of management now,” he said. “You can swear, you can still do that. But things are different, the changing rooms are different. How you speak to players has changed. You have to adapt to your audience.

“We have a culture here at Celtic. Outside of the changing room you’re not allowed your phone. That’s so you can engage and talk and communicate.

“But it used to be that players would go into the changing room for a bit of banter and fun. Now the guys go straight onto their phones.

“You have this crossover of managers who were players in another era. They could take it and deal with it. They now come into management and they are managing a different breed. It is society which spills into football. You have to adapt.

“If I look at Lenny, he wants to be the best he can be. He wants the best for the club. It is no coincidence that Hibs have done well in big games under him. But he is trying to draw that out for every performance, not just the big games.

“He was a top class player and he has taken that mentality into management. He won’t settle for players switching the engine on and off when they want. He wants the club to be the best it can be.

“He has gone in, he has galvanised the club. I am not privy to what went on, but knowing Lenny and knowing him well he will be doing it for the best for the player and he will want the best for the club.”

Rodgers added: “I always think in life and in football you can tell anyone anything in the world and you can give them the worst news, but it is how you tell them. If you continue to beat people with a stick, I don’t know if it always works.

“I have always been one to dangle a carrot and then hook people emotionally so that consistently they can perform. Even the strongest mindsets in my experience still want that. There are different ways.

“Neil is a fantastic manager and he has done great with Hibs and I am just sad that his demands have been to be the best. He has done great, took them up, had them play with an intensity, but he is wanting that consistency.

“I think each time he has challenged the players is only because they have turned up in a game against Celtic and then dropped the mentality and you have to ask the question.”

Rodgers has been publicly critical of Celtic’s transfer dealings this season and rumours of friction between him and Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell have persisted for some time.

He can certainly understand if Lennon, who lost John McGinn and Dylan McGeouch in the summer and Efe Ambrose this month January, had grown disenchanted at the level of backing he had received at Easter Road.

“If you look at Mauricio Pochettino (the Spurs manager) at the minute, he’s without his best players so the performance level is not quite the same,” he said. “It’s what happens.

“Ideally, you’d love to be able to replace your best players when you’re without them, but when you can’t there is that bit of frustration. You need to try and manage that.

“A lot of people won’t know the backdrop to lots of things and as manager you assume responsibility of the team you put out. Then you have to try and get them to play to the best level. There is so many facets to the game that most supporters, bless then, don’t know.

“I have empathy for all managers, like Alan Archibald when he lost his job at Partick Thistle. Now with Lenny, even more so because I know him well.

“I know how it’ll hurt him because he’s been trying to push the limits at Hibs to make them the best that they can be.”