BRENDAN Rodgers last night expressed sympathy with Neil Lennon and claimed that managers were more vulnerable to the sack now than at any stage in the past.

Lennon was suspended by Hibernian on Friday amid reports of a dressing room revolt after a disappointing run of results and friction with the members of the Easter Road board.

Rodgers, his Celtic counterpart, paid a glowing tribute to what his predecessor had achieved during his two-and-a-half years at the Edinburgh club.

The Northern Irishman declined to comment on his countryman’s situation without knowing the specific details.

However, the 45-year-old, who has led the Parkhead club to back-to-back trebles, claimed that his profession was more precarious now than ever before.

“I am disappointed for him,” he said. “I know him well as a person and then within football. I messaged him, but I haven’t spoken with him.

“It’s a situation that I don’t know all the details of so I would hate to throw something out there that’s not right.

“What he has done for that club has been amazing. If it ends as it looks like it might then it is a real sad end to what was a great partnership there.

“If they do end up going their separate ways then it’s an unbelievably sad situation for both because he is an outstanding manager and Hibs are a fantastic club.

“Neil is a top class manager and has shown that. He has a passion for football. For me, the thing that gets lost with Lenny is that he’s a really bright guy.

“People see him jumping up and down and think of him that way. But he knows the game, he knows the game inside out.

"He's got an intelligent approach to it. He's aggressive in his game and his teams play that way. He's first class. But it all depends on what the owners want."

Rodgers added: “The problem is that the most vulnerable person in an organisation is the manager. It never used to be the case.

“Players who aren’t playing will be after him, some people at the club will be after him, supporters will be after him, so will the media.

“What used to be the position of power is now arguably the most vulnerable at the club.

“I have been managing over ten years now and 25 as a coach and it has totally changed. The mentality of players has and that is because society is different now.

“The world has changed and football has changed. It used to be that if you got bollocked a number of years back that you wanted to show the manager was wrong.

“You would still have respect for him and you got on with it. He was only doing it to push you and make you better. Now players will crumble and go away.”

Reports claim that tempers flared when Lennon spoke to his players in the aftermath of their 1-0 defeat to Motherwell last week.

"It's exactly the same as we do here," said Rodgers. "We highlight areas where we could be better. Otherwise how do you improve?"