"Brendan was outstanding candidate.'

Anthony Smith • Published 13 Jun 2009 10:00 0 Comments

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A WEEK is a long time in politics but in football management seven months - or 192 days - most certainly is not.

That is precisely how long Brendan Rodgers had been a manager at Watford before he headed back down the M4 to take charge of his beloved hometown club last week.

But while supporters may argue the 36-year-old lacks experience, the Royals firmly believe they chose the right man from an international field of candidates.

His rapid rise through Chelsea"s coaching ranks to masterminding Watford"s survival in the Championship shone out from the pages of his CV.

'Every manager has different credentials,' explained Royals director of football, Nick Hammond. 'They all have strengths and weaknesses, there has never been a 'perfect" candidate.

'The outside perception is that we are a well run club where a manager can manage with minimal interference and a lot of support.

'That is very appealing in modern day football so we had a lot of interest, but Brendan was outstanding.

'We are extremely confident we have made the right choice. Yes, you could say there is a lack of experience with Brendan compared to some managers out there.

'But you have to look beyond that because Brendan"s experience has been gained working with outstanding coaches and dealing with players at the very highest level.

'I know all about the respect he was held in by the Chelsea players and you have to earn that, it doesn"t just happen.'

No manager has made a bigger impression on Rodgers than Jose Mourinho. The ex-Blues boss plucked him out of Reading"s Academy in 2004 and put him in charge of their youth team from where he progressed to the reserves where he worked with the likes of Andriy Shevchenko.

They are still friends - Rodgers recently visited 'The Special One"s" house near Milan and sought his advice once Reading had made their approach to Watford.

'Yes, I spoke to Jose Mourinho,' revealed Rodgers. 'He has been great for me throughout my career and he"s always available on the end of the phone.

'He said that if I had the opportunity to go into the Premier League I had to have a go. He had a couple of games here at the Madejski Stadium as Chelsea manager and I know about the after-effects.

'But one of the things he loved at Reading was the atmosphere - he thought it was fantastic.'

Not only did Rodgers transform Watford from relegation candidates into a mid-table outfit, they did it playing attractive football that put a smile back on the faces of Hornets" fans.

Now a similar revolution is set to take place at the Madejski Stadium after Rodgers ordered a complete overhaul of the club"s approach to training and tactics.

And Rodgers" take on how Reading should play and train has more than a little Mourinho about it.

'I"m really looking forward to the first day of pre-season,' explained Rodgers, with the squad due back on July 6.

'I am not a traditional coach so there won"t be a lot of time spent in the gym or running around the pitch.

'There"s a saying that you don"t buy a piano and run around it - you play it and get used to it. It"s the same with football.

'So I"m really looking forward to bringing in a non-traditional way of working. It"s a method that"s worked for many top players and it worked at Watford. It should be something the players enjoy.'

One of the biggest criticisms during the latter stages of Steve Coppell"s six-year reign was that the team reverted to desperate, long-ball tactics far too often. But it seems the chances of that being repeated under Rodgers are remote.

'Steve Coppell was a great manager and a great man,' added Rodgers. 'But this is a new cycle now.

'I"m a different type of tactician. When I came into the Championship I was told you cannot play football.

'But you can play football in this league and get your players to express themselves and feel comfortable on the ball.

'I suppose it"s a mixture of the British and European models and I"m looking forward to putting that in place.'

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