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| Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers signs new deal to stay at club | Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers signs new deal to stay at club |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Brendan Rodgers has signed a new, improved, long-term contract designed to keep him at Liverpool for the foreseeable future. Quite apart from rewarding Rodgers for his achievement in steering the club into second place in the Premier League and guaranteeing Champions League football at Anfield next season, the deal is intended to thwart any attempts to poach the 41-year-old. | Brendan Rodgers has signed a new, improved, long-term contract designed to keep him at Liverpool for the foreseeable future. Quite apart from rewarding Rodgers for his achievement in steering the club into second place in the Premier League and guaranteeing Champions League football at Anfield next season, the deal is intended to thwart any attempts to poach the 41-year-old. |
| The Northern Irishman had a year remaining on his previous agreement and this lucrative extension – its precise length has not been specified but it is understood to extend to 2018 – will make it very expensive for any potential suitors to prise him away from Anfield. | The Northern Irishman had a year remaining on his previous agreement and this lucrative extension – its precise length has not been specified but it is understood to extend to 2018 – will make it very expensive for any potential suitors to prise him away from Anfield. |
| “I am both humbled and privileged to be offered the chance to extend my stay at this great club,” said Rodgers. Appointed as Kenny Dalglish’s successor in 2012, the former Swansea manager experienced a deceptively slow-burn start, leading Liverpool to seventh place in 2012-13. | |
| If progress was initially incremental it has become dramatic in recent months, with Liverpool finishing the season just ended two points behind Manchester City after a campaign in which they came within touching distance of securing their first title since 1990. | If progress was initially incremental it has become dramatic in recent months, with Liverpool finishing the season just ended two points behind Manchester City after a campaign in which they came within touching distance of securing their first title since 1990. |
| No matter, they qualified for Europe’s showpiece competition for the first time in four years and Rodgers was named the League Managers Association’s manager of the year. | No matter, they qualified for Europe’s showpiece competition for the first time in four years and Rodgers was named the League Managers Association’s manager of the year. |
| Rodgers, a coach at Chelsea under José Mourinho who subsequently managed Watford and Reading with mixed success before establishing himself at Swansea, has turned Liverpool into one of England’s most attractive teams with his clear footballing vision and principled playing philosophy. | Rodgers, a coach at Chelsea under José Mourinho who subsequently managed Watford and Reading with mixed success before establishing himself at Swansea, has turned Liverpool into one of England’s most attractive teams with his clear footballing vision and principled playing philosophy. |
| Quite apart from improving almost beyond recognition previously struggling individuals such as the midfielder Jordan Henderson, Rodgers has kept the club’s star striker, Luis Suárez, happy while also modifying his old Swansea “pass the opposition to death” mantra sufficiently to make best use of players such as Steven Gerrard. Off the pitch, he earned further credit for an impressive demeanour and instinctive empathy with the club’s history, most notably involving the Hillsborough disaster and its victims. The manager said: “I am very happy to build on the foundations we have built over the last two years. Now we move on to the next phase which I believe will be as exciting, challenging and rewarding.” | |
| John Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, and Tom Werner, the club’s chairman, issued a joint statement, stating that all at Anfield were “very fortunate” to have Rodgers at the helm. | John Henry, Liverpool’s principal owner, and Tom Werner, the club’s chairman, issued a joint statement, stating that all at Anfield were “very fortunate” to have Rodgers at the helm. |
| “We place our trust in Brendan to deliver the vision we share for Liverpool Football Club,” the American businessmen said. “Brendan is at the heart of what we, as an ownership group, are trying to achieve on the pitch. | |
| “This season has reaffirmed everyone’s belief that we can bring football success to Liverpool and we are all committed to working together to achieve that. Players and supporters have made it clear how important Brendan is to our success and so to have him commit to us for the long term is a great boost for everyone.” | “This season has reaffirmed everyone’s belief that we can bring football success to Liverpool and we are all committed to working together to achieve that. Players and supporters have made it clear how important Brendan is to our success and so to have him commit to us for the long term is a great boost for everyone.” |
| Henry completed his £300m takeover of Liverpool from his fellow American Tom Hicks and the US hedge fund Mill Financial in October 2010 and, four years on, Anfield is an infinitely happier place. | Henry completed his £300m takeover of Liverpool from his fellow American Tom Hicks and the US hedge fund Mill Financial in October 2010 and, four years on, Anfield is an infinitely happier place. |
| If the prospect of Suárez potentially being rushed back into Uruguay’s side following the minor knee surgery the striker underwent last week – not to mention Real Madrid casting covetous eyes at Rodgers’s prize asset – has potentially clouded the horizon, Liverpool fans remain excited by what the manager terms “the next phase”. | If the prospect of Suárez potentially being rushed back into Uruguay’s side following the minor knee surgery the striker underwent last week – not to mention Real Madrid casting covetous eyes at Rodgers’s prize asset – has potentially clouded the horizon, Liverpool fans remain excited by what the manager terms “the next phase”. |
| It is likely to see Dalglish’s successor targeting, among several others, the Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana. “Obviously it’s the off-season and we have the World Cup and other various things going on,” said Rodgers. “People need to refresh and have a break but we’re still working on signings. | |
| “The signings are complex; they’re not all simple signings. But we need to strengthen up the squad and that’s something that we’re working hard to do over the next number of weeks. | “The signings are complex; they’re not all simple signings. But we need to strengthen up the squad and that’s something that we’re working hard to do over the next number of weeks. |
| “Our dream and goal is to win the Premier League. That’s what we want. We’ve shown this season we can compete for that. With some new additions we believe that we can fight again. | “Our dream and goal is to win the Premier League. That’s what we want. We’ve shown this season we can compete for that. With some new additions we believe that we can fight again. |
| “The objective for me was to try to get Liverpool established again as one of the leading clubs in European and domestic football and we’re on course for that.” | “The objective for me was to try to get Liverpool established again as one of the leading clubs in European and domestic football and we’re on course for that.” |