Brendan Rodgers has recalled the moment he was sacked by Liverpool while driving home after a 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park in October 2015. The decision was made before the Merseyside derby, with Jurgen Klopp already lined up as his replacement.
Rodgers on losing fan support
Rodgers admitted he sensed his time at Anfield was coming to an end as he felt the support of the fans beginning to shift. Speaking in 'Gaffer', a four-part series on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel, presented by William Hill, he said: "One of the real challenges is to convince those supporters. There has to be that connection… That support, those times were starting to move."
He added: "I think I maybe sensed it from the press and from within because sometimes, obviously what happens in the game is that as the manager, sometimes you're the last one to find out. Other people can know."
The phone call after the derby
Rodgers described the moment he received the news: "We finished a derby game where we wanted to win and we just couldn't break them down. I get in my car and as I was driving back to where I was living in Formby at the time, I get the call to say obviously the club were going to make a change."
His dismissal came 17 months after he came close to leading Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2014. He had kept his job in the summer of 2015 despite a sixth-place finish, but the club parted company with assistant manager Colin Pascoe and first-team coach Mike Marsh after an end-of-season review.
Transfer frustrations and missed signings
Rodgers pointed to Luis Suarez's exit and the signing of Mario Balotelli as reasons Liverpool failed to push on. He admitted the club missed out on signing Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal at the "last minute" and expressed frustration at not being able to spend more on transfers.
He said: "We had just lost out on the title but I felt real confidence then, at the end of that season, that we could build on the summer and then we could maybe make the next steps. We didn't take the step forward."
Rodgers also reflected on Steven Gerrard's slip in Liverpool's 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in April 2014, admitting he had visualised being presented with the trophy but was not experienced enough to get the Reds over the line.
