Brendan Rodgers

[Fosterbloke]

If we beat Norwich the worst we could get is 4th place. It will guarantee us the CL qualifications stage.

Primary mission objective met

[Sarb]

We need to get 3rd as a minimum. Qualification game will be tough apparently

[captainfog]

rodgers will be a great role model for gerrard when he eventually swaps his bib for a tracksuit. will carra come back too...

the re-birth of the bootroom

Carra isn't interested in managment. After seeing how it aged Ged and Rafa he's happy in the TV studio

[Fosterbloke]

We need to get 3rd as a minimum. Qualification game will be tough apparently

We need 1st minimum. No pressure like...

[Reece]

[Shaggy]

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fcs-joao-carlos-teixeira-7000622#.U0-Q37CnIHc.twitter

Reds whizzkid Teixeira: The boss makes us feel 10 feet tall

Young attacker hoping to play increased first-team role next season after debut at Fulham

Joao Carlos Teixeira says Brendan Rodgers makes the Liverpool FC players feel 10ft tall – and has labelled the Reds boss as a master motivator.

The young Portugal playmaker made his first-team debut during a tense battle with Fulham in February with the game tied at 2-2.

Teixeira was thrown in at the deep end with eight minutes left but insists the backing of Rodgers meant he entered the fray at Craven Cottage free of nerves.

Steven Gerrard’s last gasp penalty won the game for Liverpool but 21-year-old Teixeira received praise from his manager and team-mates after a telling cameo in London.

It was the youngster’s through-ball to Daniel Sturridge that led to the penalty and Teixeira also made a vital block in the dying moments as Fulham poured forward looking for the equaliser.

Teixeira described the game as the best moment of his career and he hopes to play a greater role in the first-team next season.

And with the constant support of his manager, the former Sporting Lisbon star believes he can make an impact at Anfield.

“He is an amazing person,” Teixeira said of Rodgers.

“A really intelligent guy about football. He knows how to talk with the players to get everything from them. He is great with motivating the players as well.

“Hopefully next season everything goes right and I will be in the first-team more.

“Next season we will have more competitions – like the Champions League – and hopefully I will have more chance to be part of the first-team.

“But it has still been great this season. I have been training with the best and it has been great to be part of this team. It is a great group, with nice people, and I am enjoying it even more we are challenging for the title.”

“Fulham was a great moment and my best moment in football,” he added.

“It was great to play in the Premier League – the best league in the world – and we won three points in the last minute. It was the highest point in my career.

“Brendan told me to go on, be confident and to try and score. I was on the bench thinking ‘maybe I will get on’.

“I was happy with the way I played.”

One of the most memorable images from the game with Fulham was Reds skipper Gerrard praising Teixeira after a brave block.

“Steven was telling me it was ‘great’ what I had done when I came on and that only made me happier because Steven Gerrard was telling me I had done well,” said the youngster.

“I learn the most off Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho.

“Me and Philippe play in similar positions and are similar players.”

Teixeira was speaking to the ECHO at a Liverpool FC Foundation Men’s Health session at the North Liverpool Academy.

The scheme aims to help local males improve their health and well-being and Teixeira was on hand to watch the group play five-a-side football and take part in circuit training.

Fitness has been a significant part of his regime since joining from Sporting in January 2012 for £830,000.

“When you move into the first-team the game changes because it is faster, more physical and better technically,” he said.

“So you have to improve all your attributes. You have to improve your technique and how strong you are.

“In Portugal we start playing five versus five games and so that’s where you learn the technique.”

Teixeira came to Liverpool’s attention after he starred in a NexGen Series game at Anfield.

The Reds soon swooped for the talented playmaker but the Braga native says that life in England has taken some adjusting to.

“When you move, the language, culture, food and the weather is different. So you have to adapt,” he added. “When I first came, I had a problem with my back and did my rehab here.

“So in those first few months that I was here I wasn’t playing or training because I had to wear a brace. But in that time I also learnt English and also got used to the weather – because it rains a lot.”

[Sarb]

Rodgers is supremely talented. Going to go on to be a great manager

[meffin]

Rodgers is supremely talented. Going to go on to be a great manager

He's only 4 games away from being a great manager

[Sarb]

Top article in Mail on Steve Peters. Cant be bothered to link off the phone. Can someone do it?

[Chazza]

Top article in Mail on Steve Peters. Cant be bothered to link off the phone. Can someone do it?

Piss poor attitude

It is already in the FSG thread.

[Fosterbloke]

He's only 4 games away from being a great manager

A legend

[Norbs]

He's only 4 games away from being a great manager

He's already a great manager

[baitman]

Top article in Mail on Steve Peters. Cant be bothered to link off the phone. Can someone do it?

we could do with arranging for some motivational coaching for you mate, if you can be arsed going like

[Sarb]

[Yozza]

Brendan Rodgers, Tony Pulis, Steve Bruce or Roberto Martinez? Sportsmail's experts pick their manager of the year

It's tight at the top and the bottom as the Premier League season reaches a thrilling climax and the battle for best boss is just as hard to call.

Brendan Rodgers has plenty of support after leading Liverpool to the summit while Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis has been talked up since he put his survival skills into practice at Selhurst Park.

Sportsmail's team of experts have had their say on who is the No 1 man in charge.

MATT LAWTON - Tony Pulis (Crystal Palace)

So many worthy of consideration this season but right now my vote goes to Pulis. This is simply because I love the fact that while clubs like Cardiff and Sunderland have gambled, and probably lost, on unproven managers, the Palace hierarchy had the wit to go with a guy who knows what he's doing at this level. What a job he's done.

JOHN EDWARDS - Brendan Rodgers (Liverpool)

If Liverpool win the tile, the bookies will stop taking bets. Even if they don’t, it still has to be Rodgers, after an impact at Anfield that bears comparison to the way Sir Alex Ferguson revived Manchester United. Fergie’s appointment came 19 years after United’s previous League title, Rodgers’ 22 years after Liverpool’s. Fergie took six years to end the wait at Old Trafford; Rodgers will have needed just two if Liverpool hold their nerve over the next few weeks. Not only that, Liverpool are playing with a pace and purpose that has made Anfield a venue to fear for visiting teams. They blow sides away with a verve that is great to watch, and, in Luis Suarez, they have the Barclays Premier League’s outstanding talent, when he chooses to stay on his feet.

MARTHA KELNER - Tony Pulis

Pulis took a job many didn't want. He grabbed Crystal Palace by their collective collar and dragged them from near certain relegation to almost guaranteed Premier League survival while spending very little in the January transfer window. He simply improved the efficiency of the players he already had, particularly in defence, which has proved the bedrock of Palace's transformation. In his 22 Premier League games in charge the Eagles have amassed 33 points which, if extrapolated over a season, would put them just behind Manchester United and above Southampton. Even Jose Mourinho, who rarely bestows praise on his peers, says Pulis deserves to be manager of the season if he keeps Palace up. And who are we to argue with the Chelsea boss?

NEIL ASHTON - Tony Pulis

Palace had seven points when Pulis took charge. They now have 40. He has squeezed the pips out of a squad that has the lowest wage bill in the Premier League to somehow take them away from relegation danger with discipline and organisation. If he keeps them in the top flight for the first time since the formation of the Premier League it will be an extraordinary achievement. Brendan Rodgers runs him close, but he will get votes from others.

LAURA WILLIAMSON - Steve Bruce (Hull City)

The Premier League new boys are on the cusp of securing a second season in the top flight and have reached the FA Cup final for the first time in the club's history, despite the potentially debilitating issue of a name change bubbling away in the background. Bruce deserves immense credit for keeping a level head, buying well in the transfer market and leading Hull City AFC to possibly its most successful season yet.

MATT LAWLESS - Steve Bruce

Brendan Rodgers has done an outstanding job with Liverpool this season but they might have been further ahead in the title race had they not lost to Bruce's Hull. Bruce deserves a great deal of credit. His objective at the beginning of the season was to ensure Hull's Premier League safety, something that has never really been in doubt. He bought brilliantly in the transfer market and has led Hull to their first FA Cup final. Imagine if they beat Arsenal to win it next month. Perhaps Bruce is too unfashionable to be considered for such a prize, but let's give him the credit he deserves.

MIKE ANSTEAD - Brendan Rodgers

Where to start? He somehow managed to convince Luis Suarez to stay, which triggered their march from last season's seventh-place finish to top spot as we stand. Steven Gerrard appears to be five years younger while Jordan Henderson, Jon Flanagan and Martin Skrtel are all much improved. Who would have thought all this 12 months ago? And all while playing the best football in the division with an English backbone.

JOE BERNSTEIN - Brendan Rodgers

Everything he's touched has turned to gold. A commitment to attacking football and belief in young players has inspired everyone, not least Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard. Rodgers has given Liverpool a title shot years ahead of schedule.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI - Tony Pulis

They were down and out. I remember going to one of their press conferences as Ian Holloway's reign was coming to end and looking up what the record low points total was for a Premier League season. What Pulis has done since is quite brilliant.

CRAIG HOPE - Tony Pulis

Had Palace escaped relegation on the final day of the season then Pulis would, arguably, have had a better chance of taking this prize. As it is, he’s probably done too good a job, for Palace are no longer a story! But what Pulis has achieved – no-one gave Palace a chance of survival – is the most remarkable managerial triumph of this season. Brendan Rodgers, however, would also be a worthy winner were the title to end up at Anfield.

CHARLIE SKILLEN - Roberto Martinez (Everton)

Much like his predecessor, Martinez came into this season with some big shoes to fill. However, the Spaniard has made sure the Goodison Park faithful weren’t long pining for David Moyes. He’s revolutionised the Toffees’ style of play, with Everton now imposing their football on other teams thanks to their passing, and, by taking advantage of the loan system, has built a side capable of beating anyone. Even if he doesn’t make it into the Champions League, he’s created a solid base for next season.