Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists that working alongside a player as talented as striker Luis Suarez has helped to improve him as a boss.
Rodgers has been in charge of the Anfield outfit for two seasons, claiming seventh place in his first term and finished second this year.
The Northern Irishman almost provided the club with its first league title from the Premier League era but saw his side lose pace in the final few games of the campaign to finish two points adrift of eventual champions Manchester City.
Suarez played a key role in the title push and was subsequently named Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Writers’
Association player of the year after netting 31 league goals.
The Uruguay international has been no stranger to controversy since his move to the Premier League in 2011 but Rodgers believes his ability on the field has helped him to grow as a manager.
Rodgers said: “I know for however long I am at Liverpool, whenever I leave I will have become a better manager and a better person because of Luis Suarez and for that I thank him so much,” Rodgers said at the FWA dinner.
“For a young manager like myself coming into a club like Liverpool, I understand the pressures of the club and those pressures include everything that involves managing top players.
“For me, he has challenged me every day of my life, he’s done everything that you would need to do at the top level of the game as a player.”
Rodgers was also rewarded for his efforts this season after becoming the first Liverpool manager to be named the LMA Manager of The Year in its 20-year history.
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