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Brendan Rodgers can be Liverpool’s Special One.

Rodgers’ cousin is Nigel Worthington, the former Northern Ireland boss, who says the biggest influence on the new Anfield gaffer's coaching career has been Jose Mourinho.

Rodgers started out as youth-team coach under Mourinho at Chelsea, before being promoted to reserve team boss, and Worthington says the Portuguese shaped him as a manager.

“I think he got his hunger for management from working under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea,” said Worthington.

“Without doubt, he [Mourinho] has been the biggest influence on him and every time I speak to him he talks with a lot of respect and admiration for him.

“Brendan uses the word ‘philosophy’ and that’s something he picked up from Jose Mourinho - and rightly so.

“If he can’t learn from someone like him, then you shouldn’t be in the game and Brendan learnt a hell of a lot from him.

“He has a fantastic relationship with him and they have still kept in touch wherever they have been.

“Jose Mourinho is always texting him and congratulating him every time he does well.”

(Image: Getty)

Some Liverpool fans optimistically wanted Mourinho, now at Spanish champions Real Madrid, to succeed Kenny Dalglish, who was sacked at the end of the season.

Now it appears they are getting the next best thing.

Worthington believes Rodgers’ greatest skills is his man management abilities and he also picked that up from the Portuguese.

“Brendan gets his players to play for him,” said the former Sheffield Wednesday defender, who has also managed Norwich.

“He has total faith in them and that fosters a fantastic team spirit. He also believes in playing passing football and he has instilled that into his players.

“He had the courage to stick with his principles when Swansea were promoted to the Premier League.

“Even when they played Arsenal and Manchester United and he knew if his players lost the ball, it would end up in the back of the net, he still played that way and ultimately got his rewards.”

Worthington claims Rodgers has the self-belief not to be fazed by taking the huge step up from Swansea to Liverpool.

“He won’t be overawed by the size of the task and the challenge,” he said.

“He will relish it and it will bring the best out of him. He’s a very level-headed person and he has the strength of character to be his own man.

(Image: Getty)

“You look at his career and after his playing career was ended early by injury, he took the bull by the horns, got his coaching certificates and worked his way up.

“He cut his teeth at Watford, went on to Reading and, although it didn’t work out there as he hoped, he has done a fantastic job at Swansea.

“Looking at the bigger picture, it’s great that a young British manager is being given the opportunity at a big club like Liverpool instead of going for some foreign coach.

“Brendan still has brothers and sisters back home in Carnlough and I know the whole family will be very proud of him.”

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