Soccer

Five reasons why Brendan Rodgers has got great character

Brendan Rodgers running in the Belfast Marathon earlier this month. Picture by Mal McCann
Brendan Rodgers running in the Belfast Marathon earlier this month. Picture by Mal McCann Brendan Rodgers running in the Belfast Marathon earlier this month. Picture by Mal McCann

NEW Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has vowed to make his mark with the club in Europe.

"I will give my new role everything I have and do all I can to bring our supporters exciting, entertaining and winning football,” the Carnlough man said about his appointment.

Described by Celtic bigwigs as a “special manager” with a “tremendous pedigree in football management,” we take a look at the times Brendan showed that he has ‘great character.'

1 Donating almost £100,000 to the NI Hospice

Rodgers donated the sale of his late parents' home to the Northern Ireland Hospice in April as a way of honouring his mother's dedication to charity work.

In 2010 his mother Christina died after suffering a heart attack, aged just 53.

A year later, his 59-year-old father Malachy passed away following a battle with throat cancer.

"My mother was a big charity worker, she did a lot for Trócaire," he told The Irish News.

"I just felt it was an opportunity to do something in my mum's memory, especially because she was such a big charity worker. She spent her life trying to help others, trying to raise money to help others."

2 He thinks young players should focus on the game and not the money

Speaking to the Telegraph in August 2014, Rodgers claimed that English football had a “massive problem” with young players earning too much too fast.

The then Liverpool manager said that players became distracted and lost their desire for success because of their huge salaries.

"It's a big problem with British players. Why? Because the reward is no longer there, they lose their hunger,” he said

“We have to be careful because when you reward young players too quickly, that will be their downfall.

"Over half the world watch the Premier League, and our young players get carried away, then they wonder why their careers fall away."

3 He knows how to propose in style

In February, Rodgers was pictured popping the question in style in New York.

After presenting his girlfriend Charlotte Searle with a bouquet of roses, he got down on one knee in the middle of Times Square.

4 Talent runs in the family

Brendan isn’t the only famous Rodgers from Carnlough.

Younger brother Malachy made his name as a county singer on the Co Antrim pub scene before attempting to crack America.

Today Mal Rodgers continues to write and record music from Nashville, Tennessee.

5 He’s always up for a laugh

A man who has a self-portrait as the centrepiece of his house should have no trouble with people poking a bit of fun at him.

(Screenshot from documentary 'Being Liverpool')

The internet has also mocked up a few images of things he resembles.

Huffington Post

All water off a duck’s back for Rodgers, always up for a somewhat evil laugh.