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Cape Town - Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers insists he is not
interested in managerial feuds, and prefers to focus solely on his
side's football.
The Reds will on Tuesday evening come up against Chelsea and manager Jose Mourinho, the man who gave Rodgers a youth-team job in his first spell at Stamford Bridge in 2004.
Mourinho has since gotten the better of his counterpart in the two teams' last three meetings, leading to claims that Rodgers has a personal vendetta against the Portuguese tactician.
However, ahead of this week's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield, the Ulsterman insists that could not be further from the truth.
"As a manager the big part of it is the players you have, that is the reality. Of course you can make an impact and make them better but if you come into a group of super-experienced players who have won consistently, you are going to have a better chance to win trophies - it's not rocket science," Football411 quotes him as saying.
"I have never really seen it as a direct match-up against the other manager because there are so many things that can dictate that. For me it is just about winning the game, regardless of the manager."
Rodgers went on to admit he has not stayed in regular contact with Mourinho, but insists his respect for the former Real Madrid boss has never waned.
"There's probably not as much contact but the respect hasn't left," he said. "The opportunity to work with him during that period of three-and-a-half years was invaluable for me but in some way I hope I helped him as well because there was a lot of communication.
"I have a huge respect for a wonderful man and coach but in time you are so engrossed in your own work you don't communicate as much and ultimately you could be a rival but the respect hasn't dropped."
The Reds will on Tuesday evening come up against Chelsea and manager Jose Mourinho, the man who gave Rodgers a youth-team job in his first spell at Stamford Bridge in 2004.
Mourinho has since gotten the better of his counterpart in the two teams' last three meetings, leading to claims that Rodgers has a personal vendetta against the Portuguese tactician.
However, ahead of this week's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield, the Ulsterman insists that could not be further from the truth.
"As a manager the big part of it is the players you have, that is the reality. Of course you can make an impact and make them better but if you come into a group of super-experienced players who have won consistently, you are going to have a better chance to win trophies - it's not rocket science," Football411 quotes him as saying.
"I have never really seen it as a direct match-up against the other manager because there are so many things that can dictate that. For me it is just about winning the game, regardless of the manager."
Rodgers went on to admit he has not stayed in regular contact with Mourinho, but insists his respect for the former Real Madrid boss has never waned.
"There's probably not as much contact but the respect hasn't left," he said. "The opportunity to work with him during that period of three-and-a-half years was invaluable for me but in some way I hope I helped him as well because there was a lot of communication.
"I have a huge respect for a wonderful man and coach but in time you are so engrossed in your own work you don't communicate as much and ultimately you could be a rival but the respect hasn't dropped."
