Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Bolton boss Neil Lennon: Brendan Rodgers remains huge influence

Bolton manager Neil Lennon has revealed he still uses some of Brendan Rodgers' six-year-old coaching sessions as he said his Liverpool counterpart remains an influence on him to this day.

Lennon takes Championship club Wanderers to face Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup on Saturday and the former Celtic manager admitted he is an admirer of his fellow Northern Irishman.

During Rodgers' brief and ill-fated spell at Reading in 2009, Lennon had a chance to study his methods and, although the Royals did not get the required results under the current Liverpool manager, his guest was so impressed that he continues to borrow from his compatriot's handbook.

"He was so methodical in his preparation, but his training sessions were brilliant. I still use some of them now, but don't tell him, I don't know if he has the copyright on them," joked Lennon in a news conference.

"I had a couple of days with him and I really enjoyed it. He talked about his coaching days at Chelsea and about his own ideas on the game.

"It didn't go well for him at Reading. But Swansea was a great success and he's gone on to do brilliant things at Liverpool. I'm not surprised how well he's done."

Rodgers began as a youth-team coach at Reading before becoming the youth-team coach of Chelsea's academy and then reserve-team manager and going on to take charge of Watford, Reading, Swansea and now Liverpool.

"He's travelled here, there and everywhere to learn and he's found his own niche in the game," Lennon added. "He's putting his own stamp on the game and the style of football is very good to watch. I'm sure the Liverpool fans are enjoying it at the moment."

Lennon went to Anfield to watch Liverpool draw with Chelsea and said: "They were breathtaking on Tuesday. Some of the football was out of this world. I'm so pleased for him, a fellow countryman and I'm pleased he is doing so well at a club where the pressure is huge and the expectation levels are huge."

The FA Cup tie provides a financial boost to Bolton, who are 164 million pounds in debt, and Lennon explained: "I would imagine [it is worth] half a million [pounds] or so, which is very welcome. As soon as the draw was made, the chairman had the calculator out trying to work it. It's a huge bonus for us, one we're looking forward to. We're taking 30-40 buses from here and the club are putting on free travel."

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