Tony Barrett
Published 1 minute ago
Brendan Rodgers has told Liverpool that now is the time to win a trophy, urging them to follow Chelsea’s example by using the Capital One Cup as a catalyst for further success, even though he acknowledges that doing so would further undermine his relationship with José Mourinho.
The Capital One Cup, then named the Carling Cup, was the first leading trophy that Chelsea won in Mourinho’s first spell as manager. Not only did it come at Liverpool’s expense, it also served as a platform for greater glory as the west London club went on to win the Premier League title twice in the space of three years.
Rodgers, then a member of Mourinho’s back-room staff, saw at close quarters the galvanising effect that winning the competition had on Chelsea and believes the same could happen to Liverpool if they manage to reach the final at his former club’s expense and go on to lift the trophy.
“I think it is that taste of success that hopefully pushes them [his squad] on,” the Liverpool manager said. “As I said, we are a club that is synonymous with winning trophies. We want to get that back again and hopefully we can do that this season. Our objective is still to win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League.
“Winning a trophy would help us with what we’re trying to build and deliver. I joined Chelsea a decade ago and at that point in their history they were a club who wanted to win titles and trophies. They showed once you win that first one, you want to go on and sustain it. The first one is really important and the players who were there then will tell you that. They will tell you that getting across the line on the first one is important.”
Rodgers has never hidden either his gratitude to Mourinho for offering him an opportunity to join Chelsea, nor his respect for the achievements of the Portuguese, but there is an acceptance that the close friendship they once shared is unlikely to survive the intense rivalry between the clubs they manage.
There have already been signs of strain, most notably after Chelsea won 2-0 at Anfield last April to effectively end Liverpool’s title hopes, after which Rodgers criticised Mourinho for his tactics, accusing his former mentor of “parking two buses” and playing negative football.
Although Rodgers subsequently apologised in a private phone call between the pair, he believes that such instances are a by-product of the rivalry that he feels will continue to supersede camaraderie for the foreseeable future, even if the pair’s mutual respect survives.
“We probably haven’t had as much contact, but the respect has not left,” Rodgers said. “The opportunity to work with him [at Chelsea] was invaluable to me, but when you’re fighting for the same competition, in terms of the friendship, I think some of you guys have said before when I first came in here about how will it work.
“I have a huge respect for him — a wonderful man — 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 certainly the respect hasn’t dropped.”
Rodgers may have stopped short of repeating the provocative claim made by Rafael Benítez, his predecessor at Liverpool, that the true “Special One” at Stamford Bridge is Roman Abramovich, but he did echo that idea by referring to the advantage that Mourinho enjoys at Chelsea as a result of the largesse of the club’s owner. Again, it is the kind of observation that would be made by a rival rather than a friend.
“As a manager, the big part of it is the players you have,” Rodgers said. “That’s the reality of it. Of course you make an impact with players and develop them but if you’re a manager that comes into a group of experienced players or into a dressing room that has won consistently and you have top players, you’re going to have a better chance to win trophies.
“It’s not rocket science. I’ve never really seen it as a direct match-up against the other manager because there are so many other things that can dictate that. If you’re a manager that is working with a big group of players, experienced, winners, you’re going to have a great chance to win trophies. For me it is just about winning the game, regardless of the manager.”
Rodgers will delay naming his starting line-up until the last possible moment to give Steven Gerrard every chance to prove he has recovered from a hamstring strain. Lazar Markovic is almost certain to start and the Serbia winger insists that he has nothing to prove to Mourinho despite being rejected by him last summer.
Markovic had long been expected to join Chelsea and, at one stage, a proposed move was declared a done deal by Dragan Djuric, the former president of Partizan Belgrade, while the winger visited Chelsea’s Cobham training ground in what was widely perceived as a tour of his future club.
Tonight at Anfield, Markovic will line up against Chelsea in the knowledge that he could have been wearing blue had it not been for Mourinho’s decision to pull the plug on the proposed deal, even though Chelsea would have been able to sign him for about £6 million less than the £20 million fee Liverpool paid for him in the summer.
“I don’t have to prove or show anything to him [Mourinho],” Markovic said. “I signed for Liverpool and I am extremely happy. Of course, there is more motivation to face Chelsea.”