Former Swansea City defender Steven Caulker has spoken about the positive time he spent with Brendan Rodgers during their year together at Swansea.
Caulker joined the Welsh side from Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan, during which Rodgers led the club to an 11th-place finish in their first season in the Premier League in 2011/12 after winning the Championship play-offs the previous season.
Caulker returned to Tottenham at the end of the season, making 18 Premier League appearances and scoring two goals for the North London side in the following season.
Despite spending only a year together, Rodgers left a lasting impact on Caulker through his man-management, something he believes the Irishman did not have to do but decided to do in a nice touch to help him adapt to life in Wales.
Steve Caulker full of praise for ‘unreal’ Brendan Rodgers
Caulker said [Off The Shelf], “Unreal. One of the best years of my career. Fast forward from Bristol City, another good year, came back and I was like where am I going to go next?
“Premier League comes calling, not a single doubt in my mind. Let’s go.
“Brendan Rodgers picked me up from the train station. Little details like that I look back on and I’m like he was really good. He drove me around the city we live in [told me where] a lot of players are living and about a restaurant [he went to with his wife].
“So I just felt a part of something straight away and it was a really nice touch from him and I’ve not had that since in my career.”
Brendan Rodgers’ man-management
Throughout his career, Brendan Rodgers has demonstrated incredible man-management skills, with Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling, and Steven Caulker serving as examples of the Irishman’s ability to relate to players on a human level and develop a strong bond.
This season at Celtic, Matt O’Riley and Liam Scales have become first-team starters, thanks to Rodgers’ arrival in the summer. O’Riley spent much of last season under Ange Postecoglou on the bench, with Aaron Mooy being favoured at times.
The Danish midfielder has looked a much improved player this season, already scoring double the amount of goals he managed in the whole of last season in the Scottish Premiership with six goals so far this season
On the other hand, Scales was loaned out to Aberdeen last season and appeared to be joining the Dons permanently in the summer. However, with Celtic signing Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki, he was given the chance to start against St Johnstone in August due to an injury to Nawrocki.
Since then, Scales has not looked back, with the German defender unable to regain his place in the starting 11 due to Scales’ performances over the last two months.
Rodgers’ man-management skills will prove vital to success at Celtic in his second spell as manager, and he will undoubtedly continue to enhance players through his detailed approach to communication, both on and off the pitch.
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