'Brendan Rodgers can go higher than Celtic again' says former player who credits manager with prolonging career

Stephen Dobbie adored working with Rodgers at Swansea and believes he will return to the English game in time

Stephen Dobbie celebrates with Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers having scored their third goal in a 4-2 win over Reading in the Championship Play-off final at Wembley. Photo by Dan Rowley/Shutterstock (7442650ad)

It was April last year and though someone desperately needed to speak to Brendan Rodgers, it wasn’t Dermot Desmond.

Not yet at least. Rumours were already swirling about Ange Postecoglou’s long term future at Celtic, hence majority shareholder Desmond preparing to flick through his Filofax in search of Rodgers' number. But Stephen Dobbie was not interested in assessing the Northern Irishman's desire to step back into the managerial ring. He wanted to pick the then out-of-work Rodgers' brains.

Indeed, he was the first person Dobbie thought of speaking to when he was installed as interim manager at Blackpool following Mick McCarthy’s departure.

“He was my first call,” recalled Dobbie. "I asked him what he thought, how should I approach it and that kind of thing. Anything I ever need coaching-wise, Brendan's always been at the end of the phone for me, which is fantastic. He's brilliant and that's testament to the kind of guy he is."

Rodgers’ expertise clearly helped because Blackpool won three of their last five matches. But it still wasn’t enough to avoid relegation to League One. Dobbie has since returned to his role as Development coach at Blackpool although he took time out last weekend to take part in his own testimonial at Queen of the South, where the former striker remains a revered figure.

A Scotland Select side including Scott Brown and Kenny Miller beat Dobbie’s Queens team 6-2, with the man of the moment scoring from the spot. Dobbie’s ambitions now lie on the coaching and managerial front. He stressed that he could not have asked for a better mentor than Rodgers, under whom he worked at Swansea.

The Northern Irishman left Wales for Liverpool, where he came close to winning the English title. Although Rodgers has insisted that the only way he will leave Celtic again is if he’s axed, Dobbie is confident his old manager will return to the top end of the English game at some point.

“When he came in at Swansea I think he'd had the sack from Reading,” recalled Dobbie. “He changed the whole dynamic of the club and obviously where we got to was brilliant. It's no surprise to me he went on to Liverpool. I believe he'll go even higher again than Celtic.”

Dobbie credits Rodgers for the positional tweak that helped him enjoy such a long and fruitful career. He eventually hung up his boots at the age of 39 after a season at AFC Flyde. The Scot, who started his career at Rangers, scored an incredible 166 goals in 283 appearances for Queen of the South having netted regularly elsewhere, including for Blackpool.

“He knows a lot about football, especially the little details,” said Dobbie. “Obviously I was a striker and he ended up putting me back into number 10 because he just knew how to get the best out of me and each individual player."

Dobbie rates Rodgers alongside Ian Holloway at Blackpool as the best he’s worked with in terms of man management. He has determined to utilise what he learned from both when he eventually becomes his own man again, having enjoyed his short spell in the hot seat at Blackpool last season despite relegation. “I'd definitely like to take that jump,” he said. "I remember taking the six games, I don't think I slept for six weeks! But that's definitely where I want to get to."