Leeds United boss Garry Monk has praised Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers.
Leeds United manager Garry Monk
Leeds United manager Garry Monk has told BBC Radio Leeds that Brendan Rodgers is the manager who influenced him the most during his playing days.
Monk has enjoyed a superb season in charge of Leeds, and despite losing 1-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday afternoon, the Whites remain in contention for a play-off place.
The move to Elland Road has been great for Monk, who has been able to rebuild his reputation as a manager having been sacked by Swansea City back in December 2015.
Now, the 38-year-old has re-established himself as one of the country’s top young managers, with his stock rising by the week having turned Leeds into legitimate promotion contenders this season.
Monk has now been asked which manager influenced him the most during his playing days, and he told BBC Radio Leeds that his former Swansea boss and current Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is the coach he learned the most from.
Mon suggested that he got a real insight into how Rodgers works and thinks during his two-year spell as Swansea boss, which came at a vital time, as Monk was considering his options after retirement.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
“I’m lucky, because I had a lot of experience under a lot of managers, and they all brought something different,” said Monk. “I’d probably say the one who had the biggest influence on me was Brendan Rodgers. It came at a time in my career where I was starting to think about afterwards, but still very keen to be playing and doing well. I got a really good insight into management with him, and how he worked, and how he thought about things, but then also, he was good for me from a football perspective as well.”
Rodgers has also proven his managerial credentials this season, having guided Celtic to the Scottish Premiership title without losing a game, whilst with the Scottish league Cup also secured and a Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers coming up this weekend, the Bhoys could end the domestic season unbeaten.
Rodgers has had his critics during his managerial career, but he has excelled with Celtic – and the fact that Monk picked him over the likes of Roberto Martinez, Paulo Sousa and Michael Laudrup shows just what an impact the Celtic boss had on the Leeds manager.
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