Lee: I earned my wings under Bren
Well star Lucas full of praise for his former Swans boss Rodgers
MOTHERWELL star Lee Lucas says Brendan Rodgers made him the player he is today as he shoots for Welsh glory.
The midfielder worked under the current Celtic boss at Swansea as the youngster was coming through the ranks.
Rodgers of course went on to take Liverpool within touching distance of Premier League glory before revolutionising Celtic this season, and his former protege is not surprised that Scottish football has been blown away by his former boss.
Lucas said: “It originally came from when Roberto Martinez was in charge at Swansea, I was in the youth team at the time and he brought in that style of football.
“Then Brendan came in and he was a massive part of me coming through as a youngster. Turning professional, training with him every day – it helped make me what I am now. That’s where I learned most of my football.
“It didn’t surprise me, the job he did at Liverpool when he nearly won the league. Then when he came to Celtic I knew instantly he’d do a massive job.
“It doesn’t surprise me when I watch Celtic now because what he does there is what he brought to Swansea, the press and players’ ability on the ball. That’s what Swansea were like when he was there and they competed with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and the big teams.
“It’s what Celtic are doing now and it’s hard for everyone else to compete with them, the way he has them set up and the type of players he’s got there – he’s doing a brilliant job.
“It was unfortunate when Brendan left [Swansea] as I was progressing well, he took time with the youngsters and treated everyone the same. He was really good to me.”
WHEN the two last worked together, Lucas, 24, was just a 20-year-old on the cusp of the Swansea squad – Rodgers gave him his only first-team appearance in a 4-0 win over Sheffield United back in 2011 – but his ambitions have not faded with the passing of time. Now at Motherwell, the midfielder is hoping exposure at the top level of Scottish football will open up his dream of international recognition from Wales boss Chris Coleman.
Lucas has played at various levels for his country, including captaining the Under-21s, but has yet to pull on a red jersey at senior level.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s game with Aberdeen at Pittodrie, Lucas said: “Playing for Wales is my main ambition.
“It’s massive for me. But my focus is to play here first and get a run of games. Hopefully something could come from it.
“When you are playing every week at this level there’s always a chance you might get a call up. I’m fully focused on getting the team playing well. Hopefully that chance will come for me.”
Turning his attention to tonight’s test against the highflying Dons, Lucas added: “Aberdeen have been going well this season. The game we played against them at home just before Christmas was tough. They are a good team and we’re aware it’s going to be a tough game.
“But we’re also aware we can go there with a gameplan and if we can execute that we can come away with a positive result.”