He’s managed one of the biggest clubs in the world and is now breaking records in Scotland, but the drive to be better each day is what keeps Brendan Rodgers going.
In an interview with UCFB, the Celtic boss outlined his approach to the game and his processes, as well as giving an insight on how to become a successful football coach.
Rodgers, who’s managed the likes of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez, said: “There are no templates in terms of becoming a top coach or a top manager, you have to create your own pathway. If you haven’t had the background of being a player can you then still get to the top? Of course you can. You have to work; you have to be able to devote your time. It’s just about time.”
When asked about how aspiring coaches should deal with setbacks, Rodgers related back to his own struggles at Reading and Liverpool. He said: “I first lost my job at Reading when I was an aspiring coach. That first time is very difficult because you don’t know if you’re going to get a second chance.”
Rodgers added: “The approach is to understand that in modern football you’re going to lose your job – all the statistics are there so you have to prepare yourself mentally that that will happen to you. It’s then about putting in place and implementing ideas of what will happen to you when it does. Give yourself that sort of plan.”
This approach helped Rodgers when he was let go by Liverpool in 2015, just a year after almost leading them to their first Premier League title. Reflecting on his time at Anfield, the 44-year-old said: “I knew I was going to have some time out and that gave me time to recover physically and mentally, before preparing myself for the next role. How do you do it? Experience will help you, but of course it’s about having inherent belief in your ability.”
With a final message to UCFB students aspiring to one day lead a top team, Rodgers simply added: “It’s very important that the people understand the direction you’re trying to work in. The ability to communicate that vision and sell that vision is very important. I believe in terms of taking the players on a journey; they have to believe that you can help them and improve them.”
