Past managersBrendan Rodgers

Born in Carnlough, Northern Ireland, Rodgers was an aspiring footballer himself before injury cut short his playing days and heralded the beginning of a coaching career that would bring him to Anfield in June 2012.

Before then, he'd spent almost a decade as the academy manager at Reading, where his natural enthusiasm for helping youngsters improve and develop their game came to the fore. It was a trait that would become one of his trademarks.

Following a spell working under Jose Mourinho as Roman Abramovich's Chelsea revolution took place, Rodgers was handed his first senior managerial role in the Championship with Watford in 2008.

From there he moved back to Reading and into the dugout of his former employers, then switched to Welsh side Swansea City, where his stock grew significantly - and with good reason.

Within a year of his arrival, Rodgers had guided the Swans to memorable success in the Championship play-offs and with it promotion to the Premier League, all while playing a hugely entertaining brand of possession football.

That philosophy continued into the top flight and Swansea were considered a breath of fresh air throughout 2011-12, winning many admirers with their fluid play en route to immediately establishing themselves at that level.

They ended the campaign by defeating the Reds and with Rodgers' reputation burgeoning, it was little surprise that the club registered their interest in his services after parting company with Kenny Dalglish that summer.

The Northern Irishman took charge at Liverpool on June 1 and quickly set about imprinting his approach at Anfield and putting significant faith in the young talents on the books.

He required six fixtures to secure a first league victory but Rodgers' attacking style slowly began to pay dividends and especially brought the very best out of Luis Suarez, who struck 30 goals in all competitions across the boss' first campaign.

Elsewhere, the newly installed sports science team helped to ensure the side's key players clocked up more minutes than ever, with Steven Gerrard narrowly missing out on an ever-present campaign in midfield.

Liverpool qualified for the Europa League knockout stages and were buoyed by the astute January signings of Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge, who helped Rodgers' team climb to seventh before the season concluded.

The project continued with a sprinkling of transfer ins and outs during the summer of 2013 as the boss reshaped his squad ahead of another quest to secure Champions League football.

That target and plenty more was achieved during 2013-14 - Rodgers masterminded 10 months of scintillating performances that carried the Reds to second place, narrowly denied a remarkable Premier League title on the final day of the season.

The following year would prove more difficult and the team could not consistently emulate their previous form, suffering group-stage elimination from the Champions League and exiting both the League Cup and FA Cup in the semi-finals.

Rodgers oversaw an encouraging opening to 2015-16, his fourth year at the helm, as Liverpool took seven points from nine in the league and chalked up three consecutive clean sheets.

But a subsequent run of just one win in eight matches saw the club part company with the Northern Irishman hours after a 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby on October 4, 2015.