Aston Villa boss Gerrard hails Leicester rival Rodgers: He changed things at Liverpool | OneFootball

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is full of praise for Leicester City counterpart Brendan Rodgers.

Gerrard played for Rodgers at Liverpool. The pair then crossed paths in Scotland, this time as opposing managers, where they were in charge of the Old Firm clubs.

"Brendan is a top coach," said Gerrard. “He came in at Liverpool at a time when we needed someone like him in terms of a modern coach who was going to take us forward, but also play some attractive football.

“I think the biggest thing was his delivery on the training pitch. You could see quite clearly that he had got a lot of experience and he was a good manager to play for in terms of a personal relationship.

“It would have been very naive from my point of view not to try and learn as much as I can and what I could from Brendan, and I continued to do it even when we never worked together because obviously I came up against him in Scotland and I have seen how well he has done in the Premier League, which is certainly no surprise to me.

“He is one of many managers who I watch closely and, in my position, when you are new and starting out and trying to gain that experience then they are the type of people you try to learn from.

“There is a mutual respect there. He always helped me as a player and I'll always remember that, but once the whistle goes, we'll be ready to compete for the points."