BRENDAN Rodgers can relate to the young football manager who’s in a big hurry these days. Some 15 years ago, he walked in their shoes.
Determined to reach the promised land of the English Premier League without doing all the hard yards, he controversially left his first managerial job at Watford to take over at Reading. And having acted in haste, he repented at leisure.
An underwhelming six months in Berkshire led to Rodgers leaving by mutual consent.
While he would redeem himself by winning promotion at Swansea and has rarely looked back in his career since, an important life lesson was learned.
‘You’re in a rush,’ he said. ‘When I was a young manager, I was in a rush to get to the Premier League because it’s the most competitive league in the world and it’s a challenge.
‘I think ambition is important. I think you have to have that.
Scott Brown has steered Ayr United to the top of the Scottish Championship this season
The former Celtic captain has impressed in the dugout alongside Steven Whittaker
Brown had been linked with the manager’s job at St Johnstone following Craig Levein’s sacking
‘But the ambition can be for the club you’re in and the people you work with as well as yourself.’
Rodgers was reminded of the need to play the long game while still learning the ropes this week.
Five months after the Brown family’s era at St Johnstone drew to a close, the prospect of the former Celtic captain of the same name occupying the manager’s chair at McDiarmid Park briefly came into view.
Having cut his teeth largely away from the public glare at Fleetwood Town, Scott Brown and Ayr United are now proving to be a hand-in-glove fit.
Appointed in January, the 39-year-old first ensured survival then set about assembling a side capable of winning the title.
Top of the second tier and still unbeaten, it’s not hard to see why Saints liked what they saw and made an approach. After discussions, the choice of facing Rodgers in the dugout this evening in a box-office clash was his to make.
The fact that somewhat awkward reunion is not taking place isn’t the only reason why the Northern Irishman is relieved that his former skipper stayed put at Somerset Park.
Brown sought out the advice of Brendan Rodgers this week amid speculation over his future
‘I just see him in a really good place,’ he offered. ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt he’ll manage at the highest level. It’s all about timing. I’m very, very confident that he will get there. But being a manager and a coach at the highest level is totally different to being a captain.
‘Those leadership qualities will really help you, of course. But there’s no shortcuts.
‘Being a top coach or a top manager, you have to take your time, and you have to learn and you have to find those experiences. I see him doing that very, very well at the moment.
‘I always think that, especially when you’re a young manager, getting to the right club is important. But not if you’re already at a good club.
‘He’s at a good club and he’s happy. I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t take it, but I’m not surprised that his name was linked with it.’
The pair enjoyed great success at Celtic during Rodgers’ first stint at the club
Brown’s evolution into one of the game’s up-and-coming managers would not have been predicted by too many as he marauded around Scotland’s midfields in his younger days, all red Mohawk and truculent attitude. Appearances, though, can be deceptive.
‘I only saw this snarling guy on the telly,’ added Rodgers. ‘Then when I first met him, I found out he was totally different.
‘He’d been really brave coming out of Scotland and going down into the lower leagues in England. He took on that challenge to understand and find that apprenticeship as a manager because that’s important as well. You have to learn the trade.’
Rodgers was one of a number of figures who Brown contacted this week.
‘It’s an open conversation and all I ever do is recommend,’ he stressed. ‘I would never tell anyone what to do.
‘It’s just recommendations and understanding where he’s at. He knows his own mind.’
