We’ve always had a lot of time for Brendan Rodgers.
He held himself very well while in charge of Liverpool and should be remembered fondly as a result.
Our 2013/14 season was one of the most enjoyable we’ve ever had supporting the Reds, even though it ended in heartbreak – and that was as much his doing as it was Luis Suarez’s.
Rodgers now manages Celtic, who still haven’t lost a league game under his stewardship.
If they win this weekend, he’ll break a 100-year-old British record for the longest undefeated domestic streak.
But two years ago when Liverpool fired him, Rodgers was in a bad place and has opened up about it in a recent interview.
“I had an incident when I left Liverpool,” he told BBC Sport. “I went to Dubai. I lay in bed one night and feared I was having a heart attack. My mum’s situation came over me, because she died of a heart attack… I was rushed to hospital – I was looked after great – and it was basically a reaction of the body – a tightening of the chest – because of pressure.”
“That was something that made me sit up. How to manage pressure. How to regulate it.
“I needed that seven month period out. To reflect. To make sure in my next job, I was ready.”
Although the Scottish league is a much easier one than the Premier League, Rodgers is still proving he’s a top manager.
He encourages his teams to play good football, puts faith in youngsters and has a knack for getting the best out of attackers.
Daniel Sturridge has never performed for a manager as well as he did for Rodgers, while Scott Sinclair has transformed his career under the Northern Irishman’s guidance.