Rodgers on road to bigger rewards

Brendan Rodgers tells a story of how he realised he shared a birthday with Jose Mourinho when he ended up only being offered a piece of an enormous cake he believed was destined for him during his time at Chelsea.

It is the kind of anecdote Rodgers specialises in, excited and full of admiration for Mourinho and where the Northern Irishman has come from — but times have changed.

His attempts to play it down are about as convincing as the ‘three names in envelopes’ routine on the Liverpool documentary for which he was mercilessly mocked at the start of his reign.