Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Patrick Austen-Hardy

Brendan Rodgers compared to David Brent after 'delivering team talk in Spanish'

Former Reading defender Matt Mills compared Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers with British sitcom character David Brent from the Office.

Rodgers is often revered as being one of the finest managers in the Premier League and has even been linked with the Manchester United job.

However, Mills believes the former Liverpool and Celtic boss is perhaps more like Ricky Gervais’ beloved character as oppose to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Read more: Neil Lennon reflects on Omonia Nicosi whirlwind and Celtic exit

The now retired central defender played under Rodgers during the Northern Irishman’s doomed reign at Reading, which saw him get sacked after only six months in 2009.

And Mills drew comparisons with Brent after Rodgers decided to deliver one of his presentations in Spanish, reports the Mirror.

“He was a great coach to be fair. If you got Brendan in now, he’ll give you a presentation, and he will give it to you in Spanish,” Mills said to the UndrTheCosh podcast.

“We had a team meeting one time and he just started speaking Spanish.

“There was not one Spanish person in the room and we were just like ‘what is going on here?’.

“He was like David Brent out of the office, he was a strange guy.”

Mills was signed by from Doncaster Rovers in what turned out to be Rodgers’ only transfer window at the helm of the Madejski Stadium.

Former Reading defender Matt Mills (Getty)

But he only made eight out of a possible 21 appearances under Rodgers, despite the fact he was bought in the summer.

And Mills ripped into the Leicester boss even more, describing him as a "gobs****".

“Brendan Rodgers spanned me the best line ever, and I was just like ‘this guy is unreal’.” Mills added.

“He was just a gobs****. He talks the best game ever.

“But I do have to say he’s a great coach, but the way he wanted to play just did not suit the players we had at Reading.”

Despite his doomed tenure at the Championship side, Rodgers managed to save and enhance his reputation with an extremely impressive spell as Swansea City manager.

He went on to guide the Welsh giants into the Premier League for the first time in their history, while playing an attractive style of football.

Mills compared Rodgers to beloved sitcom character David Brent

The Swans’ displays soon attracted the interest of Liverpool, who secured his services at the start of the 2012-13 season.

He came within a whisker of winning Liverpool’s first ever Premier League title in 2014, but was sacked the following season following a sharp drop in form.

But he recovered his managerial reputation at Scottish giants Celtic where he won Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups, and three Scottish League Cups, before Leicester convinced him to return to the Premier League.

While the Foxes only just fell short of Champions League qualification last season, they conjured a classic cup upset by defeating Chelsea 1-0 in last season’s FA Cup final.

Their victory over the current European Champions was the first time Leicester had ever won the FA Cup in their football history.

Read more: Northern Ireland U17 forward joins Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa for reported £600,000

Read more: Kieran McKenna, the "outstanding coach" tipped to shine at Ipswich Town

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.