Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A VILLA LEICESTER
Tomorrow: 4.30pm @Jamesnursey
BRENDAN RODGERS says Steven Gerrard was a winner as a player and expects him to be the same as a boss.
Rodgers, in charge of Liverpool between 2012 and 2015, wasn’t surprised to see his old captain go into coaching in Liverpool’s academy and then management at Rangers. The pair were reunited on the touchline twice in Scotland, with each enjoying a 1-0 win when Rodgers was in charge of Celtic before he quit for Leicester in February 2019. Now the duo are preparing to go head to head in the Premier League for the first time after Gerrard took charge of Aston
Villa last month. Ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Villa Park, Rodgers said: “When we were together Steven was brilliant for me as a captain. He was very inspirational. He was an incredible professional and very focused on his game. There is no doubt that when you lead Liverpool, the spotlight is on you to perform.
“Steven was a great leader there. He was a quiet leader, not like some who are very vocal. But when he did speak, the other players would listen.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he has gone into management and he has started off really well.
“Steven has lived under the pressure of Liverpool and then took on the Rangers job where the remit was to try and stop Celtic winning 10 titles in a row. And he was able to do just that.
“I’m sure he will have been really excited to come back into the Premier League, which he knows well. He’s working for a fantastic club.
“Steven is a winner and he will want to win games and I’m sure he will look to transmit that mentality into his teams.”
Gerrard won everything apart from the Premier League during his playing days at Liverpool from 1998-2015 and was famously only a slip away from the top-flight title in 2014.
It will be a tough task to compete for honours in the short term at Villa, who are 13th in the Premier League, but that will not stop Gerrard from trying.
Rodgers (with the former England captain, above) added: “The top teams are always going to be challenging for the trophies but we have shown we can get in amongst that and be competitive. The challenge is to put out a team to make it really competitive so supporters can be proud and see if you can win a trophy along the way.”
Foxes boss Rodgers is full of admiration for Gerrard’s willingness to take on the pressures of management. He said: “I have a huge respect for these guys who’ve been top players who want to take on the challenge of becoming a manager at the highest level.
“It is an entirely different challenge for those guys because they are having to match up with the profile they had as a player.
“People will see players who are natural leaders but they may not necessarily want to go down the route of management and coaching as there are no short cuts. You’ve got to be willing to learn, willing to improve, and willing to put time in.
“If you are a top player now and you look at it, it’s maybe something that may not take your fancy in this modern game.”
Rodgers on Gerrard: Steven was a great leader, an inspiration. It does not surprise me that he has gone into management. He is a winner