“Once you’ve been sacked, although you don’t want to hear it at the time, you come back a better manager,” the Liverpool manager said. “I’ve met Paolo a few times and friends of mine know him very well. I have always been aware of his passion. Tommy Burns, who was a good friend of mine, took Paolo to Celtic so I knew all the stories about him. It is just a shame because you can see the professionalism in the man. People say he is a perfectionist, but that’s not the worst thing to be. He was trying to create a culture of work and devotion to life as a professional footballer. I am sad for him because I could see what his vision was and what he was trying to create.”
Rodgers himself had been sacked after just six months at Reading following a bad spell of results and believes that Di Canio has what it takes to make a comeback.
“I hope that will be the case, it would be a shame to lose a guy with such a passion for the game,” he said. “You learn from your mistakes as a manager and I’m sure he’ll go away and reflect on it.
“He did an excellent job at Swindon after all. He didn’t take the easy route, he went into League Two and, whatever his management style was, he did very well. He earned his break at Sunderland. It didn’t work out, but he can learn from the experience. People like him, enjoy watching him, but football is a business now. You have to be an ambassador for your club as well as a manager. Plus players are different now. They argue back, want to set up a debate. It is well documented now the management of players is totally different to what it was 15 or 20 years ago. Nowadays you can still tell anyone in the world whatever you want to tell them but how you deliver it is important.”
Liverpool have had a solid start to the season but have been defeated in their last two games against Southampton and Manchester United, who knocked them out of the Capital One Cup.
“It’s something that we can put right, and we will,” Rodgers promised. “It’s reasonably straightforward. It’s the only moment in the game when the ball is dead so you get the chance to get set up. It is about concentration: you stay with your man and make sure he doesn’t score. It is an individual thing, something we can work on.”
The return of striker Luis Suarez, following his ten match ban, is a blessing to Rodgers. The Anfield club have not got any extraordinary victories enjoyed by Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City yet this term. Rodgers admitted that there is still work to be done before the Reds can challenge for the title.
“It’s clear if you look at our squad, we have never ever professed to be challenging for the title,” he said. “When it comes to the top four, fair enough, we want to be in the conversation, but winning the title this season is not something that has ever been mentioned.”
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