![]() It's something that if we have more throughout the squad, we'll continue to do very well." That won't stop his desire or his will to win. "He's a more responsible player since he's come back onto the field. "Over time Luis is maturing," Rodgers says. The coach believes he is not the only one who has changed, as Suarez has improved his strike rate in front of goal from 7.3 percent goals-to-shots in his first season to a blistering 22 percent during this campaign. Seventeen months on as I sit here, I'm a much better manager for that experience." "Some of them have been really testing situations as a manager. "Some of the things has done, he knows was wrong," Rodgers says. Rodgers is willing to admit he has learned a lot from managing the temperamental Uruguayan. Some of them have been really testing situations as a manager." - Brendan Rodgers "Some of the things has done, he knows was wrong. That will win us the league eventually." Perhaps subconsciously, the coach quickly adds, "or another prize." "To win the game, there's got to be a team ethos. "They've done very well but they're not the team," he says. The 16-goal partnership in the league between Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez is a case in point, yet Rodgers is eager to paint their productivity as a collective effort. we have a plan and if they are committed to the cause, they have a greater chance of delivering excellence in performance." "Ultimately the crown is in their hands," he says. The message he gives to his players is simple, yet profound. "All I ever try to do with any player I work with is to try and make them the best - to get them to become a 'learner,'" he says. Rodgers appears at his most comfortable when describing his own methodology. "I think it's an exciting thought that we haven't got near our full potential yet but we've collected the points." It's going to take a bit of time." Rodgers sighs. We're looking to introduce our identity to the team. ![]() " have got their philosophy and understanding of how they work that has been in place for 15 years," he says. The Northern Irishman admits to the existence of a gap between his squad and pacesetters, Arsenal. That doesn't stop us fighting to arrive there." It's unprecedented for any team to go from eighth or seventh to go and win the league. You always set out to win," he replies gruffly, before adding a tone of expectations management. "For us to be up there in that top four with improvements still to be made can be classed as a good start," Rodgers says with a slight smile.ĭoes that mean he believes his team can win the title? "You don't set out to finish fourth or third. Asked to give a reality check on his team's progress, the 40-year-old is candid. Though Liverpool have not cracked the top four since 2009, Rodgers' team currently occupy second place ahead of Saturday's derby with Everton, a game the manager expects will be played with a "real ferocious intensity." Yet good though his squad's results have been, the manager admits their performances have lacked consistency. He is a man clearly reveling in the challenge of balancing big vision and pragmatic reality to restore Liverpool to the apex of English football. Amidst the shouts of the players, a distant police siren and a local church bell, Rodgers' whistles ring out. Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley had once trained their title-winning teams on those compact fields, where neighboring homes are packed so closely around the walls, one player's wayward shot smashed an upstairs window. I had spent the morning watching Rodgers whip his squad through training on a frigid, damp morning at Melwood, the club's modest practice facility in West Derby, Liverpool. This is a man who commands respect through a soft-spoken intensity and thoughtfulness that are in stark contrast to the giddy image promulgated last season by the cult fly-on-the-wall documentary "Being: Liverpool." As he walks into the room, the combination of his leadership and charisma is as overwhelming as cologne. The Liverpool manager is slighter in person than he appears when clad head to toe in black on the Premier League touchline, yet he still makes an instant impression. LIVERPOOL - Brendan Rodgers is a man who oozes confidence. Here, Rodgers discusses with ESPN FC how Liverpool will regain their once lofty position in English football ahead of the Merseyside derby. The author, Roger Bennett, talked one-on-one with the club's manager, Brendan Rodgers, veteran icon Steven Gerrard and up-and-coming star Daniel Sturridge. This is the first in a three-part feature about Liverpool's attempts to get back to the top of the Premier League. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĮxclusive interview: Rodgers on LFC's title quest, Suarez and the infamous envelopes
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